San Diego... part 1 at least!

Well, amidst all of the moving, we did enjoy a REALLY awesome trip to San Diego, CA with some of our really good friends The Pounders. I think I took over 300 pictures, which I expect you to look at closely! Okay, I will try to cut it down to a few less than that....
We were fortunate enough to fly... so instead of listening to Alex fuss for 10 hours in a car, we only had to listen to him for an hour 1/2 in the airplane. He actually did well, with just minimal fussing, but when we go on a longer flight (someday) I'm pretty sure I'll drug him!
After arriving and picking up the car, which was a joke.... here's your warning **NEVER USE DOLLAR RENT A CAR**, there, now you can't say you were never warned, we met up with the Pounders. We spent most of the first day getting settled and then took a quick trip to the SD Temple, which was closed, but we still peeked through the fence.
The following week was filled with tons of fun, and lots of activities! We did the main attractions of Sea World, San Diego Zoo, and the beach. We also went to Point Loma State Park and played in the tide pools. We found a lot of crabs, some weird squishy things that shot water at you when you stepped on them (good find Ellie!), tons of birds and awesome scenery. Sam was dead set on finding a hermit crab..... thank heavens he found one just a little while before we left.... whew!
Hard to see, but yes, this is the hermit crab.....

A few more random pics from the tide pools.....




Obviously, we did have to hit the pool. Well, the boys did, and Alex was not a fan. The water was cold and so he only lasted about 5 mins. I do want to show off Sam's fancy moves in the pool.... swimming lessons have paid off!
Back floating:

and his killer cannon ball!

There are so many more pictures to post! I will do this in smaller posts though so that I don't bore you!:)

More random pics of the house...

Here are just a few more shots of the house. I absolutely LOVE this house, so it's hard for me not to show it off! I hope to not bore you with them, but... this is my blog and I can do what I want, right?
Built-in computer desk at the top of the landing:

The bonus room:


And a few random ones of the backyard:



More pics to come later. I also will soon be blogging about all that's been going on.... San Diego, Snowbird, trip to the canyon for a hot dog roast and s'mores, yada, yada, yada. Have a great night!

New house.... finally

I finally have a few minutes to post some pictures of the house. They are not perfect, but they are taken. We are nearly unpacked after a week and a half in here. Decorations are not all up, but we are getting there slowly. Please look past the few boxes and stacks of pictures that still need put up.
The front:

The kitchen:

Family room:

Stairs and landing to bonus room:

The other pics didn't turn out as good as I wanted them too. They don't do the house justice. I will take more soon, with the yard and better ones of the master, bonus room, entry, living room and boys rooms.
I don't know if anyone wants this or not, but our new home number is (801)593-5729. The home address is 561 W. Treading Ln, Kaysville. Feel free to stop or drive by anytime you want if you're out and about. We always welcome visitors as long as you don't expect the house to be clean!:)

Coming soon.....

Pictures of the house....... I promise!

Boys or Girls?

Which do you think I have at my house? You make the decision.....

Alex's Version of Un-Packing

One Baby Boy......

Days Old: 365
Days Spent in the NICU: 10
Days Spent in the PICU: 8
Chest X-rays: 37
Echocardiograms: 8
Major Surgeries: 2
Minor Surgeries: 2
CT/MRI's: 2
EEG's: 2
RSV Injections: 5
Total Money Spent: $225,300.22
Being One Year Old and Absolutely FULL OF IT:

PRICELESS......

Happy Mother's Day....

I found this poem on my friends blog and loved it! I'm never as good with words as I'd like to be, so I love when I find things that express the way I feel.
Thank you mom for raising me and teaching me the way you did! I will always look up to you, even though I'm 4 in. taller!
Thank you Hamma, for raising a wonderful man who has blessed my life in so many ways!
I hope someday to possess the traits that I admire in each of you, and my wonderful grandmothers!
Thank you Heavenly Father for the great privilege of raising two of your precious angels here on this earth! I am so grateful to be a mother!
Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt!
I never knew something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling
of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know the bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every ten minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.
Author Unknown

Happy Mother's Day!

I am SO glad it's Thursday!

Most people get excited for the weekends... around here, we're excited it's Thursday! What's the big deal you ask? Well, the sale of our home was made official Wednesday. So, what does Thursday mean to me....... no more packing of boxes, no more putting the kids to bed at Grandma's, and then leaving to go to the house to clean, or pack until midnight, no more stressing over other peoples money.... will it be there or not.
I have been very absent from blogging the last few weeks. As you know, we have been a little more than busy. The original plan was to be moved out before we left for San Diego.... but anyone who has sold a house knows that things don't always go as planned. There is ALWAYS some sort of delay.... and because of our delays, it took until yesterday to finalize things.
We are happy to report though, that things are final, and we will be signing on our home in Kaysville tomorrow. Yes, Kaysville. It's the farthest we have lived from home (Bountiful), with the exception of Gary's mission, and the semester I spent at USU. It sounds so far away, but in reality, it's only about 15-20 mins from our parents homes and will only add about 10 mins onto Gary's commute.
I will post pics of the new house once papers are signed and we are in. I hate to curse anything, but it seems very certain that this is where we're going to be. We are currently living with my parents in their basement, not ideal for any of us, but we are so grateful for their generosity and willingness to allow us to stay here for 2 weeks. We will be able to start moving in next Wednesday-Thursday, so we should only be imposing on my parents for about another week.
We are SO very grateful for those who have helped us to move over these last few weeks. We have been moving things slowly over the last few weeks to my Grandma's garage, and then did the last big move on Saturday. It took all day and lots of willing hands to make it possible and we are so thankful to our family for helping us!
We also had a GREAT time in San Diego! It was so nice to get away and not worry about all that was going on here. We really just left it all behind and enjoyed every minute we had together! What a blessing to be able to go as a family-- ALL 4 OF US-- and enjoy a vacation. We hit some of the big attractions.... Sea World (twice), The San Diego Zoo, the beach, tide pools, Old Town (for great Mexican food, and Coldstone). I will do a seperate post all about San Diego with pics and all the info later. We were able to go with our good friends the Pounders and their kids and had such an awesome time! Thanks Pounders for the invite!
I hope to be back up and blogging here very soon.... pictures and all. The kids are doing great, and Lucy is healing well. Thanks for checking in on us!