WICKED

Ever since Toby and I went to Wicked on Broadway in NY we knew when it came to Salt Lake City we wanted to take the kids. We have playing the CD for a year now and Elle and Cash know every word to every song. Elle wanted to be Elphaba for Halloween last year and for Christmas she got the most darling porcelain doll of Elphaba. Then she got to choose any song to play for her second piano recital and she chose "For Good" from the play.  Through everything we didn't want Elle to know how the play ended so we had kept that a secret from her. We bought the tickets through KSL and were so excited to give it to the kids. They were beyond thrilled and we were all so looking forward to Thursday night. I was determined to go despite my bed rest so I rested well the week before (actually got put on strict bed rest but that's a different story) and we got my parents to babysit the Tater Bottoms and off we went. Toby pulled right up to the front of Capital theater so I didn't have to walk and we took a few pics and went straight to our seats. The show was INCREDIBLE!!! I was nervous I was going to be disappointed in either Elphaba or Glinda but both of them were outstanding and everytime I looked over at the kids their eyes were huge and they were enjoying every second of it. A few times I looked over Toby had tears in his eyes. Its such a touching play and I was so thankful we were able to go. The ending where Elphaba comes out of the trap door to meet Fiero after she melted was my favorite part because Elle had no idea and kept saying "is this for real Dad?!" Best part ever. Toby didn't want the night to end so he took us to Denney's at like 11:00 at night but unfortunately we were all so tired, Cash fell asleep on the bench, and I wasn't feeling well...so it didn't go quite how he planned but it was a good memory. I had the handsomest little date by my side and Toby's date couldn't have been more darling. Love sharing nights like these with my children. (Sorry Taters...You're a little too out of control at the moment. Maybe next time;)

LEGO Mania

This little boy of mine has been SO into legos lately.  And honestly I am loving it! I love how it uses his little imagination and he's been so good at following the directions to create something but also super creative coming up with his own ideas. So much better than watching the tv which I feel like since this bed rest thing has been happening way more than I would like to admit. He tried so hard to do extra chores around the house to earn legos and he spends HOURS working on them when he gets a new pack. The other day he was such a help to me with cleaning and with Tate that I was telling Toby about it late one night and right then and there Toby said, "Cash put your shoes on...I'm taking you to buy some new legos." And you should have seen the smile on that kids face. Such a cute Dad to be so spontaneous and reward him like that. I have ZERO problem with that and am so grateful to have such a sweet, caring, thoughtful, kids by my side all the time. There are days he looks so bored, and Elle will be at a friends house, and I'll say Cash would you like me to call a friend over for you? And he'll just look at me and say "No Mom, I just want to stay here with you so I can help you and keep you company." I don't know what I did in the previous life to deserve this boy but I will be forever Grateful. I love you Cash.

Happy Birthday Grandpa GREG!!!

Always so grateful to celebrate this amazing Dad and Grandpa that we have in our lives. We love him so much and are blessed to have his happy demeanor, always smiling, great example around us so much. We decided to take him down to Vivian Park to fish the Provo river and have a picnic together and hike a little bit of Bridal Veils. By the time we were done at Vivian park we really didn't have time for a long hike but we made it work and took them on a little walk down there at night:) Everyone was so helpful with Tate so that I could just sit in the chair and I was very appreciative and just glad to be there. My Dad was so cute...He's infamous with his "To Greg From Greg" gifts and this birthday was no different. He told us the story of being scouted by the NY Yankees and how he was never able to fulfill his dreaming on the back of a major league jersey because of his accident on his mission. So he was able to get his name embroidered on an authentic jersey and he choked up as he showed it to us. So neat. We LOVE you a million Dad and am beyond blessed to have your influence in our lives. My kids adore you...and so do I!!!! Happy Happy Birthday!!!

Crazy Little Boy

Oh man. This little boy has had more little "accidents" in his short 2 years than Elle and Cash combined. I never had to deal with stitches until him. Cash was definitely "sicker" but Tate is just so active and busy and somehow always seems to find himself in trouble. So on Saturday Toby and I were planning on cleaning out the garage...I was hoping to be able to assist in some small way but I ended up bleeding a lot that day and seeing as how I am on modified bed rest I took to the bed to rest and see if I could get the cramps to go away. I had Tate on the bed with me but when Toby started to head out he climbed down and followed him saying "daddy daddy" so Tob said he'd take him out with him and let him play out there for a bit. About 20 minutes later Elle and Cash come running upstairs screaming mom mom it's Tate! He's bleeding! It's always the worst feeling wondering how bad it is. I ran downstairs to Tate sobbing and Toby holding him over the sink with blood everywhere. He split his lip pretty bad and I could tell that his teeth had been affected too. Toby explained how he turned his back for two seconds and Tate must have started to try to climb up our ladder which was up against the side of the garage cause he looked over when there was a huge crash and their was Tate laying on the ground with that huge ladder on top of him. How heartbreaking. Toby was so upset. I grabbed some ice, my diaper bag, shoes and flew out the door with Toby to the ER. So hard watching your baby be so scared and be in so much pain. Worst feeling ever. The Dr. was super polite and did the best he could cleaning him up and looking at it while Tate was beside himself and told us the decision was ours wether to stitch it or not. He'd have to do it without numbing it since it was directly on the lip, not a little above or below. We ended up just giving him some pain killers and coming home, but then we had to take him to the dentist since he chipped two of his teeth. So sad. He was pretty worked up and just laid next to me on the couch for hours after he got home. Such a tough little kid.  -

Well you think it would end there but nope. A couple of days later I was needing a day out of the house so we decided to get in the car and go to Kathys to let the kids swim and let me lay by the pool for a bit.  I can't really carry anything right now so all of the kids got out of the car and Toby started loading his arms up with all the swim bags and towels etc. The kids when running to Kathy who was out by the pool cleaning it up for us...Tate included. Tob and I started walking towards the pool and as i watched Tate getting closer without his swimsuit or floaties on it reminded me of a super sad story of a relative of Tessa's whose daughter just drowned at a family party. I turned to look at Toby and started telling him about it when all of a sudden he yelled Tate! And went sprinting off toward the pool. We were probably about 15 yards away and I'm guessing it only took him about 5 seconds to jump in the pool and get Tate but talk about the longest 5 seconds ever. Tate had just kept walking towards the pool and just jumped right in!!! What the heck?!! Elle and Cash were just standing right there and Kathy who was on the other side just jumped right in fully clothed and started to swim towards him although Toby got there first. Tate was actually doing a decent job treading water but his head was under the water still. I reached down and and grabbed him as Toby lifted him up to me. And as I held him I just sat there and cried. Most awful feeling ever. I'm so grateful we were all right there walking towards him and there were multiple eyes on him but wow...how fast these things can happen. He cried for a bit but then calmed right down and went on to put his floaties on and swim away. I couldn't really calm down though. It had been an emotional week and Tate wasn't helping with all of his accidents. I just want to keep this kid safe. Grateful for Toby's quick reaction and looking around the yard you could see all of the things that were in his arms just scattered around the grass. We sure love this little boy.

A day or two after that he put a blanket over his head and started to walk around like he was a ghost saying "OOOOhh" and chasing after Elle and Cash. Next thing Tob and I hear is Tate tumbling down the stairs... he obviously had impaired his sight and I guess we were trusting Elle and Cash to watch him while they were playing with him but he took a turn, bumped into the wall, and just kept going down the stairs with the blanket over his head. Luckily no cuts or broken bones there but again I just feel like I'm an accident away from a heart attack. As of right now we're about a week accident free so praying we can keep this record going.

Thirty-Three!!!

How I just turned 33 I'll never know. I feel like I'm 23. Although I feel like the perfect age is 28. I think I'll stick with that. This whole summer has been quite different for my little family. Being on bed rest just doesn't allow for all of the fun activities that a summer should. Luckily Toby has been superman and has done such a good job getting the kids out of the house taking them to the park and me as well with trips to Kathy's pool. Deciding what I could do for my birthday was a bit difficult but seeing as laying by the pool is a favorite pastime of mine and something that bed rest will pretty much allow Toby called Tiani up and asked to borrow her pool for the day. She is beyond generous and without question allowed the whole family over for a day of swimming. I was worried about the weather...it always rains on my birthday and this was no expect ion...but Toby said he said a prayer and it cleared up quickly and we had a wonderful time. Then we got Orange Peel and went back to our house for strawberry shortcake, ice cream, and presents. I have such a wonderful family. Grateful that most of them were able to be there. - My friends always have a little swim day for me which we did at Tiani's a week or so later-and also Lindsay got a hotel room at Deer Valley for work that she invited us girls (errin, joelle, me) to spend the night at. This was the hardest decision to know if I should go or not...but I hadn't been bleeding much or been out of the house so I we decided I could do it and went the night before my birthday and that was a wonderful little break:) - And then the day after Kathy was the incredible mother-in-law that she is and threw another little swim party for me at her house and we were lucky to have Janie and her kids there to celebrate with them. 

Because of my lack of energy and feeling so sick along with not being able to go anywhere I really have no pictures for my bday so.....I posted pictures of TATE instead! We got his hair cut recently and boy does he look adorable. I love him so much. That last pic is of him the FIRST time he got a hair cut and the first picture is him and Cash just chillin at Tiani's Pool. Rough life:)

4th of JULY!!!

THE FOURTH OF JULY. One of the best Holidays ever. This fourth was no different. The kids minus Tate got to Josh's house for a sleepover in the tent...which they love. We woke up and went to my Mom's for our annual belgian waffle breakfast and brought a new addition of CREPES. Yum. From there we went to Kathy's for a wonderful day of swimming and relaxing and then back out to my parents for a barbque and fireworks. BUSY BUSY day but so much fun and I love making these memories with my kids. So fun watching Tate's face and it's almost like he's experiencing some of these things for the first time. Grateful for our Country and for all the freedoms we have. Such a great Holiday!