jess thanks so much for the blog on indie. i love the ie on indie and then the ie on the end of marie. funny but i pay attention to things like that and i loved it. so what was it that you thought was so easy about that delivery? these sweet little babies are pretty darn fun especially when they are asleep and now there is no beating having g'kids. they are the best. i had a friend say once that you would die for your spouse but you would kill for your kids.
i was looking for some genealogy stuff yesterday because i'm getting closer to dead and i don't want to explain to everyone why i would watch Lost and Smallville every week i could and i hadn't taken time out to do their work. anyway i'm looking thru this old journal and i come across this entry i wrote right after we moved into the house in north salt lake. brooke was only 4 and adam had just turned 3. aunt jack had asked us over for dinner. she served us all up lasagna (back in the day when you didn't just buy it from costco) and then sat down with nothing in front of her to eat but a diet Tab. brookie asked her why she wasn't eating. she said it was because uncle kev wouldn't let her. brooke waits for her opportunity and when kev isn't looking she motions to jack and mouths the words hurry, eat now!!! we are all laughing at that and all of a sudden we are all caught off guard when adam, then a man of few words positively roars, "you let aunt jack eat!!!!" poor kev. now we really were busting up. write down all those funny little things they say that you think you will remember. i had completely forgotten that one.
i'm on my 3rd application of oven cleaner. it's too bad to even use the self-clean setting. brind made himself a peachcobbler while i was gone that boiled over everywhere. uncle geof. was pretty impressed that bennie wanted peachcobbler for her b'day cake. cory's family were a little confused at the lack of a b'day cake, but they liked it. i will post the recipe. it is g'ma ellen's and is right over from england. different from the recipes in the cook books, but all the kid's favorite.
conference was awesome. elder holland's talk among others hit home. no misfortune that can't be made worse by complaining. i'm committing to being more positive even where no one can see or hear me--which would be in my head. and the hymns. what can i say, come come ye saints, i just finished Fire in the Covenant and i kept thinking of them and last year on pioneer trek with our youth. the spirit of God like a fire is burning is our family favorite. i think of times we have sung it and how i love singing it with you. too bad i can't sing it without bawling!!!
life's good!!! i'm out the door to work on the yard. you can not believe how beautiful it is here. it is so green and all the trees are in blossom. maybe i will even learn how to post some pictures on here so you can see it. take care aunt Le Anne

ColoradoBennett

Jess, thanks for posting Indie's birth story. I know that's a lot of effort to get that all out but I was so curious as to how it all went and I'm so glad everything ended well. I too love being prego, labor and delivery, and most of all...tiny babies. In 2008, if insurance troubles don't get in our way, we'll be due for another little bundle of joy. So I was just changing Tristan's diaper only to discover a little surprise (not just a lot of poo). There was a garden marker, you know one of those little white things you stick in the ground next to your plant to label it, in his diaper. A "Dill's Atlantic Giant Pumpkin" marker to be exact. It was pretty funny because the poo was definitely pumpkinish, due to a hardy meal of sweet potatoes yesterday. I know just how it got there and I feel like a terrible mother knowing that he slept all night with that poky thing in his diaper. But he didn't complain, he rarely does. Anyway, the garden marker made it from the garden to the diaper changer table and I changed T's diaper right on top of it and it must have jumped right in. I'm sure I was distracted by a fight Sierra and Kaia were having over a glow worm singing doll, to my credit. Poor little guy, somehow I think he'll survive and it'll make him tougher. Right now I better go and save him from Kaia who has spilled all the tooth pics out and I'm sure wants to use one to stick up his nose or something. Happy Conference!

Happy Birthday Ellynn

Sorry, I am late posting about this because I promise I was thinking it as everyone was discussing Ellynn stories. Ellynn, you are an awesome, awesome person. You are about the only one who would sit in a car driving around to quiet Tristan with no complaint...that is just so you. I love you because you are probably the most genuine, kindhearted person I know. Happy Birthday, I hope you guys are doing well.

Indie Marie is here

Before I get into the birth story I would like to say Happy Birthday to Elly and congrats on being the overall winner in your spring fling. I hope you are having a great day today. Geof and Darla, I am glad you are settled in and that you have such an adventure ahead of you. By the way I love the name June, very cute, how did you come up with that? LeAnne, it is great to have you on the blog. Adam, I loved seeing Sierra snowboard, how adorable. Mindi, I loved the story about the bird, isn't that the same thing she yelled when a stray dog got into your laundry room? She is quite the animal lover. Cory, your blog about seeing Elly come home from the hospital was classic. And finally Brooke, Mike and family, I am so sorry about all that has taken place with little Ellyn lately and I am happy to hear she is doing better. Only now that I have my own baby can I even imagine what that must have been like for you. You are all in our prayers.

So here is what happened with baby Indie. On Monday the 19th we had to be at the hospital at 6 a.m. We went to bed at midnight the night before and I got up at about 4 a.m. to get ready so I definitely did not get enough sleep. They started me on potosin(?) at 7 a.m. and my doctor broke my water at 8 a.m. (which was quite an experience in and of itself). At about 3 p.m. I decided it was time for the epidural because the contractions were getting pretty bad. So right before you get the epidural they have you sign a paper that states all of the things that could go wrong while getting an epidural which was very comforting. I just about passed out while they were doing it because it kept not working and they had to do it 3 times before it finally worked. So they give me the stuff and my legs started getting heavy and I could no longer feel the contractions so it feels great but then slowly my arms start going numb and then my chest. I am trying to stay calm although in the back of my head I'm thinking, "If my chest is numb, my lungs are probably next." So I say, "Am I supposed to be numb up here?" as I pinch my chest. The nurse asked if I was kidding and I assure her I wouldn't kid about something like that. They hook me up with oxygen and call the anestitist(?) back in. They decide to turn the epidural off completely. Then the baby's heartrate starts to drop with every contraction so they turn the potosin off, all of this is done without my doctor knowing so I lie there for about 3 hours making zero progress until the doctor comes in around 6 p.m. and gets in a fight with the nurses and starts everything back up again. Fast forward to about 10 p.m. where I am feeling pretty groggy and I have started a fever which I attribute to my "lack of sleep headache." I am finally dialated to a 9 and they call the doctor in. They all start bustling around frantically and I finally ask, "Are you hurrying because your nervous or is this normal." The doctor said everything was fine but she had mentioned that she wouldn't let me push for too long before she would do a c-section and I definitely didn't want to go through all of that to end up with a c-section so I was pushing like crazy, at least I think I was because I couldn't really feel anything. I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my head though. Besides that it was a really wonderful time. Tony was right by me counting with the nurse telling me I could do it. He was wonderful. Mom, dad, leash, lyd, grandma Rigby, Kim and Annelee were all there and near the end they were all yelling push, it was funny. So finally at 10:55 p.m. Indie was born. She came out face up so her poor little face scraped along my pubic bone which really did a number on her face. Her poor little head was all cone shaped and swollen and bruised. And her nose and eyes were swollen and bruised too. It really scared me at first because I didn't know if she was okay but just hours later it had already gone down. Her legs and fingers were bruised too and they said it was because she was squished inside of me for 9 months and I wish she would've spread out a bit, there was plenty of room. It made me feel so bad. You could barely touch her because she was so sensitive and sore. Anyways, they cleaned her up and let me hold her for about 1 minute and then they wisked her off to the NICU because they were afraid she had asperated meconium. I got to visit her there and change her diaper. We finally went to bed at about 2:30 a.m. and at 4 a.m. they brought her back to us. It was wonderful to be with her. Fast forward again to Wednesday morning where they decided to put her back in the NICU for jaundice. We had to check out that night at 11 p.m. so we went home without a baby. I walked into her nursery and just bawled. So from Wednesday to Saturday we spent most of the days at the NICU and then slept at home. It was horrible but then again I felt blessed because most of the babies in there are there for months at a time. So on Saturday we finally brought her home. It was great to be home with her and besides the first night things have gone really well. She has really caught on to nursing which I was afraid she wouldn't because they had to bottle feed her in the NICU. We are just as happy as we could be and we are amazed by her. I could stare at her all day and I can barely do that without crying. I just feel so blessed. I never knew I could love so much and I am so glad I get to be with her and Tony forever. We have taken tons of pics but they are all on Tony's lap top so on Sunday I will post them while we are here at mom's. I found out the hard way about the brocolli Darla and I think salsa has the same effect too. When we brought her home on Saturday we had to have her on a billy blanket to continue to help with the jaundice and as of today we are done with that so that is good because her jaundice has gone away. The blanket glowed and when Chloe saw her in it she thought it was her binki glowing it was so funny. So after all of that Tony and I were driving home from seeing her at the hospital one day and I said, "we have to have a ton of kids" and he agreed. He used to only want two but I think he has changed his mind. I have loved being pregnant and the delivery wasn't bad either so as long as I can raise them that easily I think we will have a lot. It has been the most amazing experience ever. Sorry this is so long and I am rambling now so I will go. I love you guys. Love Jess

ColoradoBennett

Here are a few recent pics. Hoosam is our student from Saudi Arabia. Kaia loves to ride her bike. Tristan is wearing an outfit that Adam used to wear. LeAnne was worried he'd be to big, but I squeezed him in. Then the last two are shots of us at the candy factory.

ColoradoBennett

Ellynn, happy birthday. I sure hope they throw you one big "spring fling" birthday party at school today. Since the theme of the blog is memories of Ellynn, I'd just like to say...Ellynn, remember that time you and Jason took Sierra and Kaia in your car for hours and hours so that Adam and I could "get Tristan to sleep easier". That was awesome. When is our next big trip together? Adam was telling me this morning that we have two days to use up some flight pass we have. He was asking me how I thought we should use it and I just kept wishing there was a way we could fly to WA, to UT, and to VA for a extended visit. Maybe Adam should just ask my dad if he could stop working and just keep getting paid because he is such an awesome son-in-law. I think that would be one case in which the phrase "never hurts to ask" wouldn't apply. Here is a picture of Ellynn last April and a shot of LeAnne and the kids when she spent the night on her way to VA.

happy birthday e-dog.

here is a flower for your spring-timing birthday.



e-dog, hope your birthday is wonderful. i remember when they brought you home from the hospital too... after you were LIFE FLIGHTED from mt. rainier...just in time to make it to PLAY PRACTICE at school... nice one... i keep telling myself that one day, just maybe, i might be able to pull off something that cool, but i just don't see myself being that slick.

anyways, i hope yer day is fantastic and jason treats you like the queen you know you are. i do indeed love you like a sister o' my own, and many times you have made my life fantastic. and i hope your neck is okay too.



loves you bunches,

c-dog

elly's special being born day

happy birthday my little spring chicken.  oh how the time flies, i remember well the day mom and dad brought you home from the hospital.  after we snuggled you for a little while dad took us down to an easter egg hunt at the club house.  you were the most beautiful baby.  i remember sneaking into your bedroom to watch you sleep.  where has the time gone? well, you will always be my little sweetheart!!  i was thinking back to my 24th birthday and i can't remember a stitch of it, but i did have pretty good year.  we went to europe with adam and mindi, i ran my first marathon and i spent the rest of the year pregnant.  (that part was not so good!)  i suggest all three, but maybe wait until the last part to try the third one.  it's a doosey!

bennett came home from school and informed me that 3 boys in her class had a crush on her.  then she told me that it wasn't really a surprise "because i am so beautiful."  who can argue with that?  but i did have to remind her that beauty comes from the inside and everyone loves her because she is so sweet.  but mad can she throw a mean jump rope.  i think she jump ropes 2 hours a day. 

wilohm washed all the dishes for me last night and said, "this is what workers do so i do it because i am a worker boy."  (add lisp and new jersey accent)  i could eat him with a spoon.  he got out of bed last night and hug out with mom, cor and me until 11:00.  he helped cory take out the trash and played with cards while mom and i played nerts.  then we sat in bed and looked at all the pictures from disney land on the lappy.  brind let him borrow the x box and he can start it and beat levels and everything.  you may think no big deal, but cory couldn't even get it started the other day and when benny and i tried to play we couldn't even find the battle we were suppose to be fighting.  that huge cranium is definitely full of some brains. 

hazel is trying to send me to the nut house.  how can something so small and so cute be so irritating.  i'm not a bad mother, i love her to death especially when she is sleeping.  her vocab has quadrupled in the last 3 weeks yet, "mom uppy" and "a bit, a bit" still seem to be her favorites.  and she thinks she can do what ever she wants as long as she says, "sharry", (sorry).  which i have to admit might be a little too true.  oh and she thinks she is a big kid so she likes to say "i do" to any question, and run around saying "i beat you".  like everything in our house is a big race or something. 

jackson had a tae kwan do tournament last week and earned a silver in forms (that is were they demonstrate a routine of punching, blocking and kicking), and a silver in sparring (fighting), and a gold in board breaking.  he tied with his best friend on the first break (a flying side kick).  then they had to choose a different break and it took his friend three tries to beak with his elbow, but jack broke with his hand on his first try, so he got GOLD.  he was very excited.  he really takes it seriously and as uncompetitive as he is in soccer is as competitive as he is in tae kwan do.  (dad i think i am spelling that wrong.)  oh and a little miracle.  cory thought that the thing started an hour later than it did so he walked in just as jackson sat down after breaking his first board.  but he was there to see him break the second and get gold. 

jesse and tony i feel like a scum bag that i was not on here the day indie was born telling you congratulation and how beautiful she is, but i was thinking of you.  we need more pictures!  adam sierra is an animal.  i couldn't believe how rad she was.  it must be like me watching bennett run.  it brings tears to the eyes.  chels thanks for the pictures.  cam thanks for answering the call, it's good to have you back! geof. and darla, i love you and hope you will be happy, i'm sure you will.  especially with geof. being off for a few days and still getting paid.  that is my idea of heaven.  you know that country song that says, "if i could make a liv'n off of loving you, i'd be a millionaire in a week or two"  (i know leashy would know what i am talking about)  well that is my dream that someone would just pay cory to stay home to love and play with us.  brooke i love you and am glad things are getting better.  you need to write about what jane did the other day.  mom told me on our run this morning and we both started crying.

speaking of our run i felt like you this morning, ellynn.  i had to go to the bathroom so badly i could hardly walk and when i spotted a port-a-potty i could have cried.  i ran and laughed all the way thinking of you.  i told mom that i must be living right because it was brand clean (yes mike, brand clean), there was toilet paper and even soap (and not that little bar in the urinal).  so ellynn i hope your day is filled with clean, well stocked biffys or what ever the equivalent for you may be.  i love you and will forever.................meags 

Happy Birthday Ellie Boo!!!!

Dear Sweet Sister, I hope you have an amazing birthday. Jane and I were just talking about your trip to Georgia. Has to be up there with one of the funnest times of my life.

Jane wants to blog really quick- How old are you? Oh yeah I remember... 44.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday, I have no doubt that you will be spoiled by everyone around you because they all love you like we do.

Mom, I love having you on the blog. Mindi and Ad- Sierra snowboarding was awesome and obviously the word have gone out among the animal world that Adam's house is a place of sanctuary. I'm sorry Mindi.

I have to go get Jane out the door for school. Things are going much better around here, only one way to go.

I love you all. Love, Brooke

ColoradoBennett

Our laundry room is cursed. Today we were rushing out the door only to find a bird trapped in the laundry room. This bird must have entered and really scared Max because there was a puddle of pee on the ground and o' Max was hidding outside. It took me about 5 minutes to get the bird out the window. The whole time Sierra is screaming "I want to keep that bird! He is my pet!".

ok i said i was going to do this because i feel like i'm missing out on a party and i hate to miss a party. it was great fun helping Geof. and Darla move in. you will all have to go visit and see their very avant guard decor--wire shelving never looked so good. Jess and Alicia this apartment was designed for women of your size and stature. the cupboards in the kitchen are so high that Darla can reach 1/2 of the lowest shelf and there are only 2 small cupboards below the countertop. concequently we had to purchase a small stepstool that makes it possible for both Darla and Dayne to reach everything in the kitchen. as for Cole " he doesn't need any stinking step stool!" let me tell you how much fun it was to drive from Provo to Richmond by myself. it was great and i loved every minute of it. a dinner plate has more contours than the land between Denver and Topeka, KA. but after that it got interesting. i had a great book on tape, Fire in the Covenant and that kept me entertained. i would get up and run before i started to drive. i kinda chickened out one day in Missouri, there was a big black dog. i wasn't sure he was aware of the update in Missouri that it was no longer legal to kill mormons. it was so beautiful. it seemed like every house, town, and church i passed was right from the movie "Funny Farm" they even had the small lakes enclosed with the white fence. Kentucky had all these big black barns and black fences. i don't know if they were tobacco sheds and they were black like your lungs will be, but they looked just like normal barns only black. it was cool. i took a back road thru the middle of the Alleghenys. there hasn't been a lot of change going on there for a while. very picturesque, beautiful river flowing down through these valleys and then there would be this big old factory belching great amounts of smoke. anyway it was fun and i didn't get lost once till i got to richmond and then Geof. Darla and I spent a good portion of our time lost. i've decided when you grow up in Utah you become directionally retarded. i mean really how hard is it mtns. on the east, lake on the west, and Brigham Young laying everything out in a rational manner. some days it pays to have a monarchy.
Adam and Mindi, Sierra, Kaia, Tristan, were great fun. having these free flights or almost free could become very addicting for a G'ma that has her G'children all over the U.S. and world. it would work to my advantage if Adam had some free flight time and needed "A Rest" i have a few projects here that could use his expertise. like the leak that is showing up in the ceiling of the basement--which is just what i need right now. oh well, Mindi i guess does not like musicals i think its because she hasn't seen any. i fixed that. i introduced Sierre to 7 Brides for 7Brothers. Mindi had always wondered why Adam kept singing Bless Your Beautiful Hide--now she knows. Sierra wanted to watch it and i needed to leave for the airport. i made her a deal i would leave the movie for her if everyday when she watched it she would put her hand over her heart and say "I love my Dana!" she promised so i left it.
thank you so much for your hospitality and all your prayers for Geof. and Darla and his job and now for our baby Ellyn. Cameron when i read your blog and realized you were fasting for her that Sunday and you didn't even know about the bigger problem going on it made me bawl. what an awesome family we have. you are all in my prayers each day. congratulations Jess and Tony on your little glow worm. yes i have talked to your mom. we had to do the same thing with Ellynn when she was born--and she turned out. the only residual affect has been that she continues to love being in the lime light. love you all, aunt Le Anne
ps i'm not checking this because i don't spell any better than my kids and if i labor over this too much i know i will never do it again.

Bavaria

Two quick things- Geof and Darla, so glad you are having fun. I hope you continue to love it.

Cam- I forgot to tell you. Sadie still talks about staying with you and playing with Eliza and Harley- Just a few days ago she was asking if I remembered her best friend in Utah and going to play at Uncle Bill's pool with her and the big boys. It was pretty cute.

Ellyn is feeling better and we are going to try going to preschool today. I hope it isn't to traumatic. She's such a cute smiley little thing when she's happy.

Blog out- Chels, more baby pics?

Spring Fling

k i only have 30 seconds but i wanted to tell you guys something i'm really excited about. today at school we had a spring fling competition. we invited girls from schools all over the state. there were only about 20 contestants. they had 3 categories, an updo a haircut and a style. they had a first second and third place for each category and then an over all winner who had the highest average. k don't know if i explained that very well but the point is i got the OVER ALL!!! it was way unexpected and so SWEET!! so that's my good news for the month, oh and jason and i are moving into the provo house next week! we're so excited!
ellynn

richmond

yo,
Thanks for all the birthday wishes and the having of children near my birthday to celebrate and what not. it is pretty dang awesome out here. it is so crazy to finally leave provo and be out on the other side of america. the other day when darla and i were out here to find a place to live we visited washington d.c.. i picked up a penny and saw the lincoln memorial and then looked up and there was the lincoln memorial. it was so cool. of course now you all have it reinforced in your minds how cheap i am. we're gonna go visit another historical park today and see a museum that's supposed to be great. i really want to go to the edgar allen poe museum but not with the children. late at night i heard a tapping. "sir you need to leave your children are ruining the exhibits etc..." you catch my drift. flying the plane is still crazy i'm about a state behind it but hopefully i'll catch up next month when i fly more. i feel like i'm retired i'm on reserve and they never call so i've had the last 7 days off. next month will be busy though. alright we'll post some pictures. please come out this way it's awesome. jack and kev we're right next to the speed ways. peace

Bavaria

Hi- this is Brooke, not Mike but I am too lazy to sign out and sign in again. I just spent a wonderful few minutes reading through all the blogs that I have missed the past week and a half.

First of all- Jess and Tony congratulations!!! Indie is beautiful and I can't wait to see more pics. Please post as soon as you can.

Geoffie George, I'm so sorry I missed your birthday. I thought about you all day long. I love you and hope you are moved in and at peace. I know moving to a different region of the country is a bit of culture shock. Also, seeing what apartments you can actually afford is a shock as well. I remember when we first got to Oklahoma, after two days of looking at apartments I called mom and just started crying. But we found a reasonable place that wasn't fabulous but it worked. I'm excited for you guys though. There is so much history and so many neat things to see and I'm glad you are getting out. Mike says make sure you go see Williamsburg and Yorktown and the Outer Banks in North Carolina are only three or four hours away and beautiful.

Cam, I loved your long blog, every part of it. Your lives sound incredibly busy and I really appreciate the time you take to keep us updated. Also, thank you so much for fasting with us for Ellyn last Sunday. It means so much to us and it was greatly needed.

Well, as Adam said, Ellyn and I spent six exciting fun filled days in the hospital. I'm sure most of you have heard the full story, but just in case. Last Thursday morning as Ellyn was sleeping she began seizing- is that how you say it? The girls were all on my bed and it scared us all half to death. I called Mike out in the field and then called the health clinic. They told me I could get an ambulance or I could take her in to the emergency room myself, which I did. I was concerned but not overly, once I got over the initial shock (Ellynn-as in sister- has had a couple). Jane went to school and I dropped Sadie off at our friend's house so she could go to pre-school, telling my friend that I would probably be back in time to pick her up. Mike met me at the emergency room and initially the treating physician thought it was an isolated incident from an infection or something and told us we would need to stay overnight and they would do some bloodwork. Mike left to go get stuff for overnight for me and Ellyn and to pick up Sadie from pre-school. Ellyn and I were taken to our room where I laid down with Ellyn and she immediately fell asleep. Within about two minutes she was having another seizure and I was bawling and yelling for a nurse. As soon as she was done they started wheeling her downstairs for an EEG. Ellyn was fast asleep again. We got down to the waiting room and the nurse left and Ellyn was sleeping peacefully on the bed. And then it happened again. I have to say it was the scariest thing to happen in my life, well it's right there with Mike leaving for PT and never coming home again, and the time I thought the Fed Ex guy was an Army official at my mom's front door (all I saw was an arm with a black coat ringing the doorbell and it was right in the middle of Operation Anaconda). I wasn't so much worried about the seizures, although they were scary and disturbing, but what they were indicating. Well, the techs did the EEG and called upstairs to tell them Ellyn had had another seizure. I borrowed their phone and called Mike and told him to come back right away. When we got up to the room the pediatric neurologist was there. He already had the EEG and he told us that Ellyn has epilepsy. They put her on a powerful med to stop the seizures and she slept the rest of the day. The next five days were the most boring of my entire life. They started Ellyn on a low dose of the meds she must now take every night. They had to keep us there to monitor her blood and make sure it was not damaging her liver. On Monday, they had to take about 8 tubes of blood and after the line not working that they had put in when we first got there and them sitting there squeezing her little arm while she's screaming hysterically I asked if they could please give her some sort of sedative- did I mention this all took place in a German hospital where only the doctors speak English with any fluency and the nurses speak more English than I speak German but that is not saying much- so they basically made her high, made a few more pricks and got their 8 tubes of blood. On Wednesday, the day they discharged us, they did an MRI and a spinal tap. Oh I thought we were home free. So excited to be home with my happy, healthy child, she had been completely happy and normal the whole time we were at the hospital. We did not know however that spinal taps cause a great deal of pain, nausea, headaches, etc... and so up until last night our poor baby was miserable. I can only be grateful that my stomach isn't bigger because I carried that baby on my chest for three and a half days. She is finally happy and becoming a bit more independent. I swear right now I have two umbilical chords. Thanks to throwing up for three weeks and hard bread and bologna for two of my meals a day for the past week I have only gained two pounds so far.

I have to tell you that my husband was amazing through all of this. His commanders were incredible. They took him off his field assignment, told him to stay home and take care of his family. Luckily it was a four day weekend as well. Mike started bringing Ellyn mac and cheese and spaghetti and all her favorites from home once he realized what we were attempting to eat (German food is amazing, German hospital food is disgusting). He took amazing care of Sadie and Jane (they did stay up way too late and he did feed them waffles and icecream for breakfast one morning). Since we've been home he has done everything so that little Ellie could have my constant care. I don't know what I would have done without him.

I have to say this experience is making me a bit apprehensive about staying here during a deployment. I felt so isolated, the only American in our wing of the hospital. I wanted Taco Bell and not whole fried fish and most of all I wanted to be able to communicate exactly what I wanted to say. But I have to say we are incredibly blessed. Ellyn has had no more seizures. My husband and daughters are wonderful. We live in a day and age where modern medicine can help in so many ways (the doctor said without the meds Ellyn would probably be having seizures as often or even more so now that they have begun). I'm sure now that I'm feeling better and Ellyn is as healthy as she can be and Mike's parents are coming I will start feeling better about life. I love you all. Thank you so much for your fasting and prayers. Love, me

Rich-town

It's really "Richmond", but I thought I'd try and fit in more with what people around here call it. No, to be honest (and to clarify what Adam said), we actually love it here. Richmond is a beautiful city which does happen to be 70% black...depending on who you talk to. Our apt. building IS predominantly blacks, but they are very nice and we don't feel at all that we are in an unsafe area. Actually, our apt. is quieter than the last 3 places we lived in Provo. We do need to get into a home ASAP however, because I just don't think I can continue stuffing things here and there to make room. Geof. and I were joking the other day that we thought it was so crazy that our friends were having their 3rd child and still in an apt. in Provo (this was a few years back). And look at us now!! How humbling. Geof. picked up a line starting next month which is good because then he'll know his schedule and can do some extra work on the side. We had an awesome day yesterday...driving all over Richmond. It's gorgeous here. Beautiful, quant little neighborhoods with mature trees (tons of them) and everyone seems to have a wraparound porch or at least a screened in porch on the side of their home. So cute! There's quite a few colleges and universities here which always helps with the cultural side of things. In fact, today we're going to drive over to this old historical park near the river that we think might be part of an old plantation. We're way excited (and overwhelmed) at all there is to see and do...and it's all so close! So come out and visit. Let us know so we can get you a discount on flights. jess and tony, congrats on the new baby. How exciting is that? And I love the name Indie. I hope she's good and not too fussy. If that is the case, watch what you're eating! Chocolate, broccoli, hm...the list goes on for what I could eat with Dayne. When I stopped eating chocolate though, it was night and day. Even a small taste turned her into a monster. Cole was perfect....other than being hungry for the first 6 months of his life. Oh our kids. how we love them. THey're absolutely CRAZY and Geof. cannot handle taking them out. it completely stresses him out (it does me too...when I'm alone with them). WHy and HOW are we going to do three?? I'm thinking of naming her June Bethanie Bennett. What do you all think? And if it's negative feedback, I don't want it. (: Well. I have to run. I'm at the library trying to get things done via internet while Geof.'s at home trying to entertain. Thanks LeAnne for all you did! It's so nice to be moved in!! luv, darla p.s. Brooke, Mike and Ellynn (and girls of course), we love you and are praying for you.

Sierra Bobby's first day on board

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBNgj7Upt48

Seattle Bennett living in Colorado

So I know its been a few days but congrats Jess and Tony I hope by now you are home from the hospital and just enjoying the baby she is definitely a Rigby, beautiful.

So I took Sierra snowboarding last Saturday and she tore it up if I can I will post a video I took with my phone. It kind of reminded me of the song that goes something like this
"and when the nurse cried out its a _ _ _ _ I'm sure it pleased you for _ _ _ _ are special or so you always said but when you found out I was a Snowboarded I bet you shouted out hip hip hurray" truly I was choked up to see her cruise down the mountain.

I can't help but be grateful for all the blessing God grants me and my family. The blessing are just flowing so fast it makes life great.

Mom has been in town for the last couple of days after helping Geof. and Darla with their move. I thought she needed a rest before going home so I put her to work pulling out the last pesky, rotten, no good, junipers in my yard, no offense to all you juniper lovers out there and we planted some beautiful cherry bushes that I hope will complete the final phase of yard overhaul.
Not to steal Brooke and Mike's thunder but Ellyn was hospitalized for the last couple of days Mike was pulled out of the field while pregnant Brooke watched her baby have sporadic seizures until she could be medicated properly and released from the hospital. So I know there have been pleas on the blog for prayers but we cannot ask enough for Devine inspiration, and strength for Brooke, Mike, and their doctors as they try to help little Ellyn.

Not to steal Geof. and Darla's thunder but they are moved into their new apartment and well, they wanted out of Provo, they're out. Strippers live above them and gays below and Darla keeps clicking her ruby slippers together but they're still there so I guess that's home. They maybe the only whites in the neighborhood. The good thing about that is that white culture has lost the art of BB Q's and with any luck Geof. will be able the infiltrate and steal some slow roast, finger licking, sauce slathering recipes.

all right I'm done stealing thunder and miss spelling words so bad that even spell check doesn't know how to fix them

Love you all Adam

Indie Marie

Hey guys! I have been given permission to let all of you know that Indie Marie is here. She was born last night, March 19th at 10:55pm. Indie weighs 7lbs 2oz and is 19inches long. They are doing great and Jess and Indie will be going home tomorrow. And yes, I actually figured out how to post a picture!!!

~Chels

jane i love that you're on the blog! i haven't forgotten about you. cam i loved the update on the robbins fam and i think that's the cutest thing in the world that you took harley to the ballet. jesse it was good to get your message today. i'm so excited for tomorrow i could die. if i could be there i would!

so i've been trying this new thing. it's called eating healthy and working out. it's rough i'll tell ya that. i think if it's possible i might be allergic to spinach. i'm not sure but i did throw it up last night. for no appearant reason either. i don't know. no, i'm not pregnant. but i do get a little emotional. so the other day we were have a little discussion in class and my teacher was asking us about our heroes, who they were and why. really i could have named just about anyone in my family because i realize every once in a while how much i look up to all of you. however at this point in time i was thinking about my sisters so i said them and why? because they're pretty much everything i want to be. brooke is a freaking saint. she is so patient and attentive to her children. she is so supportive of michael and has to be without him way more than either of them deserve. meagan is a machine and so positive and lets be honest, has been the glue in mom, i mean our family for years. anywho just a few things i was thinking about this week.

good luck tomorrow jessy james. i don't know if the word is out about ellyn or when brooke will post but please keep her in your prayers. i love you guys.

ellynn

Birthday Wish

Happy Birthday Geoffie!!!
We hope you are having a wonderful day. When I was little I always thought it would be so fun to have a birthday on St. Patrick's Day like you. Hope all is well with you and your little family.
Love Jess and Tony

a green day just for geof.

st partrick's day is one of my favorite holidays and i know it's becuase my best little leprechaun was born on this day.  i hope you have a wonderful day and know that you are very loved!!  it sounds like you are getting all settled into you new place.  i can't wait to here all about it and all the fun adventures you will get to have on the east coast.  have fun!!

                                love, meags 

Happy B-Day to YOouuuu..

Happy B-Day Geoffrey. I'm not sure if you guys can even check the blog in your current state of chaos, but I hope your day is great. I'm glad you were born.
Luvs n kisses,
cory

ColoradoBennett

Cam, I loved your blog. Tell Moni to call me and we can compare notes on teenage girls emotional rollercoasters (I'm curently in the middle of a YW battle involving hypersensitivity). I can't believe little Beck is rolling over! Tristan is 7 1/2 months and doing nothing of the sort. In fact I was talking to Ellery the other night and he told me a funny story. He said he once asked his mom why his head was stort-of flat and funny shaped in back. She said it was because when he was a baby he would put all his weight on his head, arch his back, and scoot backwards. I couldn't believe it. That is exactly what T does. In fact, he back-scooted right off the bed. But he is fine. When I told this story to Gram she laughed and said she knew it must be a genetic Bennett thing because no baby in her family has ever moved like that.

Crabb's

Ok, so I know that it's been awhile since I or anyone from the Robbins' family has posted and I apologize. First I need to tell Brind and Leanne how happy we were that you stopped by that night to visit with us. You all need to remember that our house is always open to anyone coming through Utah.
So, life has been completely insane the last couple of weeks. First we had to say goodbye to Jan as he went into the MTC a week ago. I am so excited for him and I know that he is going to be an awesome missionary in Italy! It was pretty hard to see him go though. Jan has been really close to our family. He was always willing to hang out with Monica and I. It was fairly common for him to just call and say he was coming over to sleep over at our house. I'm not sure if it was really to hang out with us or if it was just to sleep on the love sack and have breakfast at our house. Whatever the reason we were blessed to have him with us and I loved getting to know him.
Monica is amazing. She has caught on to being a mother of 3 a lot faster than I have caught on to being a father of 3. Her plate is definitely full right now. She won't take on any more voice students. She is teaching 2 days a week. One day from our house and one day at Paula's. We'll see how long she is able to keep it up. Some of you may have already heard but she has a new calling as well. She was called to be the YW President. I'm not sure exactly how many girls she has but I know she has something like 17 beehives and at least that many more between her Miamaids and Laurels. I'm sure that she will be great and she will really qualify herself to be able to fulfill the calling.
Joel is doing great and he is definitely still Joel, very quiet. I think he is enjoying school and playing. I am excited to get to know him better. I know that sounds funny since I have been part of the family for almost 7 years now but he was so quiet in high school and so involved with his friends that I never really got to know Joel.
We love AJ. He was almost always willing to come hang out with us when Jan did though it didn't always work out. He's a lot like Joel in that he spends a lot of time with his friends. He's pretty good about splitting his time though and we get to see him a lot. I think one of the things that I love the most about AJ, and most of you know this about him, is that he always has a question. I have to be honest, when Monica and I first got married that drove me nuts. Now that is one of my favorite qualities. All of his questions really are sincere and he really is trying to learn about something all of the time.
Kel is great. As always I'm going to have to post something about sports with Kel. I'm sure we won't see much of him for the next little bit now that March madness has started. He'll be glued to all of the games and I know I'll hear all about it. I have never met a 15 year old with a stronger testimony and desire to be good. Before Jan left we had a family night where we basically had a testimony meeting and also took time to give advise to Jan. Kel bore such a strong testimony of the gospel and his love for Jan and how he knew that a mission was the best thing Jan could be doing. You all would have been amazed at his spirit.
Jordan and Michelle are amazing. We love to hang out with them whenever we can. The are both staying very busy with work and Michelle is running all over Northern Utah between teaching dance and going to school at UVSC. Jordan is still working at Ideal Lease and I think he's enjoying it. Their apartment is only about a block and a half from Trolley Square so we had a little scare the night of the shooting because they do spend some time at the mall but we were safe there.
Harley is still taking Ballet once a week and she loves that. Monica bought tickets to "Sleeping Beauty" that Ballet West put on and Harley and I went to that a couple weeks ago. Not exactly my favorite outing but the time spent with Harley was worth it. The only thing about it she didn't like was that there was no talking so she couldn't figure out what was happening a lot of the time. She is also working with Michelle practicing for a play. One of the places Michelle works is a theatre school and Harley went and tried out to be in Annie. She will be in the play but I don't know what part she'll be playing, maybe Molly.
Eliza is so fun. She has really turned into a daddy's girl. We play a lot and I enjoy my little talks with her. I think that she is about ready to start dance too. Maybe in the fall when Harley goes to school. She is my little sweethart and she is always saying the funniest things. The other day Monica's Grandma had curlers in her hair and she kept yelling to get Grandma's attention because she wanted to let her know that with her hair like that she looked like a monster. Pretty funny but maybe you had to be there.
Beck has had a busy week. On the day that he turned 5 months old he started to sit on his own for a minute. So he now sits, rolls all over and his first tooth has come through the gums and we can feel a couple more ready to poke through. He is very quick to smile and he loves to watch his big sisters.
Now that I've bored everyone to death I just wanted to comment on a couple other posts.
Brooke, It's good to hear that you are feeling better. We will be joining the rest of the family this Sunday to fast for Ellyn. She's so sweet and we know that the Lord will help her progress. Tell your family hello from the girls and us. Harley is always asking when her cousins are coming over again. She has a better memory than most people and she even remembers what they did when you came and stayed with us.
Jess, I feel for you. Remember that we are close too. If you need anything just let us know. We are so excited for you and Tony. You two are going to make great parent's!!!
Geoff and Darla. I am really sorry that we weren't able to help out when you needed us. Please let us know how you're doing and if there is anything we can do from here for you.
Ok, it's late and I'm at work trying to make some extra money. If you get the itch to take your family to the dentist, don't. (J/K). Thank goodness for insurance. Meagan I remember your story about taking your kids to the dentist awhile back. Don't ever feel bad. After insurance pays it is still going to cost us $1000.00 to get our families teeth fixed. I thought we were doing so good brushing our kids teeth but I guess not good enough and we need to start flawsing their teath as well.
Well, I feel like I have rambled long enough and I don't know if this even made sense so forgive me. I will post soon when I'm more awake.

Due date come and gone and still no sign of Indie

Yesterday, the 13th, was my due date. I went to the doctor on Monday, the 12th, and she told me I was still at a 1, maybe a 2, (I think she was trying to make me feel better). Tony wanted me to wait until I had made a little progress before getting induced but finally realized after four weeks of being a 1 that Indie probably wouldn't be coming out any time soon on her own. I told him she would probably go two weeks over if we let her so we decided to get induced. I called the doctor and said anytime would be great. The doctor then called the hospital and they didn't have any openings until Monday the 19th. AHHHH!!!! So by then I will be 41 weeks. Oh well. I am hoping to start on my own before that but I am not sure that will happen. We have been trying everything. Tony massaged my feet last night (we heard about pressure points that my start labor) and about 5 minutes later he said, "a lot of good that did." I guess he thought it would be immediate. It was funny. So I am patiently waiting. My house is immaculate, the laundry is done, the nursery is finished and I finally got a bag packed for the hospital today so I am ready whenever Indie is. Friday was my last day at work. I decided to take this week off. I felt guilty for not working but at the same time it has been great to sleep and relax and get ready. I haven't had a week off from work in forever. I love you all and I will let you know as soon as anything happens. So it will be for sure Monday the 19th if not sooner.

Love Jess

bg life

brookie if i didn't have all of these pesky kids i would be on the first plane over there to take care of you.  just as soon as i was done helping mom drive cross country.  as we were laying in bed this morning with wil and haz cory reminded me that if we had stuck to our plan wil would be our oldest and i would have a huge lump in my stomach.  although they have slowed me down a little i'm glad we went with 'my' plan and not 'our' plan.  cory and i had our first indoor soccer game on sat.  it was so much fun, we play on our ward team.  it's a good thing i can run because my ball handling skills are a bit rusty.  i did score my first goal ever!!  it only took me taking out the goally about 10 times before i was able to get it past him.  cory went foot to foot with the star player of the other team and won.  people said they could hear the guys knee pop.  yikes, i feel really bad, but i am thankful it wasn't cor. 

hey where on earth is cameron.  i miss you and your great updates on the robbins fam.   and i need to hear about jesse, aren't we about there?  i'm so excited for you!! 

last night for family home evening we had a family work night.  dusting, vacuuming, windows, etc.  we had so much fun.  i promised the kids to make them a really good treat tonight while we watch a.i.  i asked them what they wanted and ben and wil wanted to clean the house for their treat.  wow, i hope that will last.  thankfully jackson has gotten over being the devil.  i really think it was because i was sick.  his moods really depend on mine, which is scary.  well so many of you are going through trials and blessings that challenge you.  you are all in my prayers!!  and we will be fasting with you, brookie on sunday.  i love you all.  

                                         meags 

Bavaria

First, before I forget- Jess, the vampire episode of the Office has to be one of my all time faves as well.

So Sadie broke the charger for the lap top. We will be buying our SECOND $80.00 charger. Cory, you should read the reviews on those things. One star, half star, it made us feel better that we aren't the only ones going through chargers like they're candy.

I'm feeling better most of the time now. I still feel really bad when I don't have food in my stomach and now that I'm not throwing up half of what I eat I am beginning to increase my poundage. I am not feeling at all attractive, just ponchy and pastey. I should have left my hair long because now if I don't do it, which is most of the time, it-I- look like crap. I am still trying to play catch up on the house because I still don't have alot of energy and it is pretty well zapped by my lovely and demanding children. Let me pause here to say however that Jane has been my lifesaver. There had better be a special place in Heaven for oldest children (I will be there too of course). She has really been an amazing help and I am so proud of her for stepping up and doing so much without complaint (much anyway). She is such a cutie, as are my others, just much less helpful.

Mike got home from two weeks in the field on Wed. last week and yesterday morning they told him at work that he is needed to fill a captain slot for the rest of this month and part of April. Let me tell you that I am not at all pleased. I think he might have secretly bribed them to take him away. My wife goes to bed at 9, she is getting fat, she never feels good, my house is a mess, when I'm home I have to do extra work... You know something along that line.

Well Ellyn has decided to join me while I type so I will make the rest of this short. This coming Sunday the Stinchfield family is having a family fast for Ellyn for the purpose of helping her learn to speak. We are going to start having family fasts periodically to help her progress in every way possible. I would really appreciate the fasting and prayers of any family members willing or able to join us. I know that through our faith in the Lord much more can be accomplished than through any therapy. So if you can...

Well I have to go to the commissary and get stuff for Mike to take and more food for my cupboards. By the way, in case any of you were really worried, I couldn't bring myself to letting my kids eat all that junk that I had bought so most of it is still sitting in my deep freeze for babysitter nights. Meagan, I know this will help you sleep better at night.

I love you all.

Seattle Bennett living in Colorado

So if you ever want to feel like a rock star Cory (read comments) you should go to court I went yesterday for Miguel and while we waited for his case I was forced to listen to some of the worst reasons for restraining orders I had ever heard. One person kept on harassing an old girlfriend because she wouldn't give him his stuff back, when asked what is this stuff you want back he said "she has my shovel, my coffee mug, and a bandanna." how much money is wasted each year by us paying all the fees for the judge, DA, court clerk, and who knows how many other people to file the original grievances, for the recovery of shovels, coffee mugs, and bandannas. I love paying taxes. sorry Cory there is not thousands of people yelling your name but you do feel like a rock star. no offense to Mr. Lorenzo or anyone who reads this blog who has ever gone to court to recover their shovel, coffee mug, or bandana I hope you get your stuff back and just a little shout out to all those girlfriends holding on to shovels most of your new boyfriends will come with their own shovels if they don't just assume they have a bandanna and coffee mug/cup and maybe a third item like a cd or a dvd that you can keep instead of a shovel they're easier hide anyways

love Adam

ad

adam you are such a funny boy.  and look i wrote it right here on the blog so you will see it for sure, but will only have to look at it once and not have to wonder if you have read it or not.

          love ya, me

I exist still!

Hello everybody, it is me, Jane. Meags I love you and every body else. Yes it is very, very sad that nobody says hello to me or hows it going, I love you, etc.. You people are too caught up chit-chatting on the blog so I decided to get your attention by posting... Wonder if my dad will get back anytime soon.

you all hate me.

Jane

bg life

i was going to post a whole bunch of comments because i absolutely love them and didn't really catch that adam hates them.  not that that matters, i only heard or see what i want to see.  and i see cory finally on the blog and a great little word from barb, mike's mom who is super cool so i say keep on rock'n.  as for jess i excuse you also, i excuse you from everything!  we just pray for all the lovely pregnant ladies in our lives that they will have the strength and will to get through.  but don't get me wrong it is worth every second.  even when you 20 month is holding your leg screaming for 35 mins. as you try to make your way through the house trying to find the floor.  or as you realize that satan has just figured out that your perfect 7 year old is a two months away from baptism hence he has turned into the scariest creature alive.  but i have faith that he will over come.  or when your sweet little princess and her snotty best friend tell you that you are the ugliest meanest mom in the world after you have woken up at 7:30 on a saturday morning with a sinus infection to haul their tiny butts to ballet.  oh but wil he is perfect.  don't ask cory or anyone else, but i will tell you the truth he is perfect.  but to their defenses, jackson does apologize at least a million times a day and tells me how much he loves me.  and bennett cried when i told mom what she said, because she felt so bad.  and hazel does say "uppy" more times than there are numbers to count it, but when you do pick her up she kisses you all over and says, "i youuuuu, i youuuuu".  they can melt your heart.  i wish i had time for more, but i have been sick for so long i am really trying to make it to my children, my cory and my house.    

i love you all, blog and comment on.......meags

sp jesse i think about you hourly, someone must keep us posted when the time comes!   

oh how lovely was the morning

so i'm almost done with my first trip as pilot. it is really quite awesome i love flying the jet but still have a lot to learn. alright so on the 3rd of march we landed in rochester new york late. the crew was bummed because the airline was having us stay there the next day so we were stuck in freazing northern new york with nothing to do. well i woke up and made some calls to try and get to church. a young man named mark who's from AZ. going to medical school gave me a call and asked if i wanted a ride. on the way to church he asked if i wanted to go to palmyra after church. i knew that palmyra was close but i didn't know how close. after church we went to the hill cumorah, joseph smith house, the sacred grove, and then to the grandin print shop that published the book of mormon. it was so awesome i thought i'd be stuck in a hotel room all day and instead got to go to places i'd wanted to see my entire life. i wish it hadn't been so freezing there were no leaves in the grove but it was still so amazing. a couple in the ward invited us for dinner and i was very thankful. this church is true. i'm from the west make a few phone calls and get to spend the day with some great people. i think about how i need to be the person who helps others more like that kid. i'm sure glad i have darla who is so good at that kind of thing. anyway all is well i've landed the plane several times and the captain only complains of minor back problems. i told him to shut his mouth. alright mucho love. peace out.

Whaaa!!!

That is all I can say to my brother for complaining about the comments. Jess, you are excused. I understand if you don't like them, I didn't either, but just for the sake of Cory's random comments I want to keep them. You don't have to read them or write them if you don't want to. Ellie, so good to hear from you my little Korn-nut ; ).

Okay, unfortunately I am already feeling yucky from being on here, so let me get right to the point. Mindi and Adam, thank you so much for the beehive and bees for Ellyn. It is too cute and she has even paid a fair amount of attention to it since we opened the package yesterday. That is when Sadie and Jane give her a chance because even my ten year old is somewhat fascinated by the thing. I finally picked up our mail on Friday and it took me another two days to get the energy to bring the packages in and open them. You two (Mindi, I do know it is mostly you but Adam is pretty dang thoughtful as well) will have a special place in heaven where people like me are not allowed.

Okay, I'm officially ill. Love, me

back in black

so the title pretty much has nothing to do with my post....well actually if i think about it, i will be wearing the black apron at school soon as apposed to the green schmock. that means i'm advanced. i'm just waiting for my test to be corrected but i feel confident. so i feel like i haven't seen the blog in ages! oh wait, i haven't! i didnt' even know you had to do the google sign in thing. mine wouldn't even work, i had to call and get meagan's info and use that.
i'm trying despirately to think of something interesting or funny to tell you all but i'm drawing a blank here. the highlights of my week are the people that come in to the school. i just did extensions on jason's crazy aunt leigh. she's freaking hilarious. anyway she's mom's age and wanted long blonde extensions. they looked awesome! i mean as far as color matching and all of that. however, they were about 3 inches longer than they should have been for blending purposes and about 8 inches longer than they should have been for her age. luckily she came back in a few days later and let me take off the 3 inches. another highlight of my week was seeing Geof. and darla. they are so cute. darla finaly looks pregnant and Geof. seems to be back to his regular, high stress level rather than his "holy crap that vein in his forehead is gonna blow" stress level.
that's all the excitement i have to offer. i love married life. jason is a doll and makes me laugh daily. he's so fun.
so you might be wondering why i wrote at all. well the truth is, i was reading all the "happy birthday" wishes to adam and i thought "hey my birthday is coming up. maybe if i write something before then, they'll write to me too!" so there it is. but i do love you guys and i love reading the blog. keep er going.
love, ellynn

oh p.s. my birthday is march 30th....just so ya know.....

ColoradoBennett

A few months ago Adam came up with this great parenting idea. He got three empty "Airborne" bottles (we highly recommend it to boost the immune system) and filled one with quarters (the empty jars happen to fit quarters perfectly). On the other two bottles he wrote "good" and "bad". Everytime the girls were caught doing good behavior we put a coin in the good jar. Everytime that acted insane, we put a coin in the bad jar. We promised them that when all the coins were in the good jar that we'd have enough money to take them out to Chuck E. Cheese. It was amazingly effective and a few days ago Sierra went on a cleaning rampage (an exciting new habbit of hers) and earned the right to move the last quarter from the good jar to the bad jar. So last night we decided to pack up the family and head to the local Chuck E. Cheese. Apparently, that was the idea of 342 other families because the place was packed. We unloaded, headed to the door and the employee told us that her manager said there were no tables left. We were turned away from Chuck E. Cheese and great was the cry in Israel (sorry, the girls are watching "Prince of Egypt" right behind me and that line just came on). Anyway, the girls were really heartbroken and somehow Adam convinced them that "Red Robin" would be just as fun because there was a great big bird there (my grandparents gave Adam a gift certificate there for his birthday which also influenced our decision). Unfortunetly, the big red bird only works on Tuesday nights (what's up with that, Adam said, who goes "hey, it's Tuesday night and the big bird is working, better go to Red Robin"). Well, all's well that ends well. (That reminds me. If you haven't already, check out my comment on Jess's blog. Since there is so much opposition, I think it'll be my last).
Then this morning at about 5:21 a.m. Sierra came into our room. I told her that there was no room in the bed and she'd have to go back to her bed. Adam affirmed this in a sleepy gruff voice. I guess being turned away is more than our normally stable Sie-bear can handle and she walked back to the room sobbing heart-breaking sobbs. Those woke up Kaia and Adam had to end up going in there to try and get the whimpers back to sleep. They were past the point of no return, apparently, because at 6:30 they were still awake, crying because they'd spilled water all over themselves while trying to get a drink. Now crying is like Kryptonite to my superman of a husband and he really couldn't take anymore. Hence, "Price of Egypt" is rolling and he is back in bed sleeping soundly.
Also, ever since Aunt Jack mentioned that she wanted to delete old blogs so that she could "clean it up" I've been terrified that our blog would get deleted and lost forever. Is anyone else interested in getting the blog published into a book? There was a great site (www.blogbinders) that just went under, but there are other sites popping up. From what I can tell it could cost up to $30 or more per book. But someone with more computer savvy (say it like a pirate) could figure this out (hint, hint, cor-dawg).

Still alive and definitely still kicking...

It has taken me almost 2 weeks of random visits to my moms to get through all the blogs and all the comments. I have been keeping a list of things I would like to respond to and now I have the time to sit down and write. Not having the internet at home really sucks and so you will all have to suffer through this ginormous blog. First off I don't think I am a fan of the comments because like Adam I couldn't remember which ones I had read. I think it will be better now that I am caught up. Geoffie, congrats and I love you, I knew you could do it. Geof and Darla, congrats on a boy, any names yet? The math problems were hilarious, I can really relate to the guy who hung himself, that is how I felt my third time around in math 1050. Meags, I too, told Alicia and my mom about your birthday story and started crying and they started crying. Dad, Kev and Tony were there, hopefully they took note. Cor, you are one of a kind. I don't remember who talked about the mormon tea party but that sounds like a blast. I am going to recommend it to my YW. Meags, I loved the fridge cleaning story, surprisingly mine is a mess but I am doing a thorough house cleaning tomorrow before the baby and I will be sure to take a look under mine. Brooke and Mike, congrats on the baby. I missed the hint too but your mom told me while she was here. That is awesome. Brookie, you mentioned venting a while back and you can vent on here anytime, that is what we are here for. I love nutella as well, I became an addict in Europe, we put it on everything...bread, cheese, chocolate...that's right chocolate dipped in more chocolate. Meags your comment about sending the scrapbook thingy by mail was funny. Adam, happy late birthday and sorry we kind of stole your day too. Geof and Darla happy late anniversary and sorry we kind of stole your day as well.

Anywho I think that is all the comments I wanted to make so now I can tell you what has been going on in my life. The baby has made a permanent home in my uterus with no immediate plans to move out. I have been at a 1 for the past three weeks and am only 1/2 way thinned. I do think she is putting on some pounds because I definitely am. My stomach has gotten way bigger just in the past two weeks. She is always kicking like crazy but I love that part of it. Something has started happening in the past 2 days that is not so fun...my legs are swelling like an elephant. The other day I was wearing socks that were about mid-calf length. I took them off and got in the shower and about had a heart attack while soaping my leg. There were huge bumps above where my socks were. I was horrified thinking it was probably a blood clot but it went away after I laid down for a few hours. I think I need to take it easy which is fine by me, I have been pretty tired lately. Only 11 days until my due date but I guess really it could happen any time. I had my first shower and it was so fun, I got a lot of great stuff and I have another one tomorrow. I am hoping to finish the bumper pads tomorrow and we just finished the nursery last week. I will post some pictures. After a lot of work it turned out pretty good. I will keep you updated.

I met Brind's Julia a few weeks ago, she is a doll! She reminds me a lot of Mindi and she gave me a hug when she left, what a cutie.

Tony had a good birthday on the 11th. It was on a Sunday so we couldn't do much and he worked the Friday and Saturday before, oh well. We went to his mom's for a little party, it was fun.

Valentines day was fun as well, we went to Tony Roma's for dinner, which I really like. We decided to make or buy each others gifts for $5. Tony got a bunch of pictures of us developed from when we were dating up to now and wrote an adorable card about how much fun we have had together just the two of us but how he is excited for the future and the new little one. It was perfect.

Our anniversary was good as well but note to all unmarried cousins...don't get married on your mother in laws birthday. Just kidding but it was Kim's 50th birthday so we threw her a big surprise party at the spaghetti factory with about 80 people. It was really fun and I think she had a great time. So to celebrate our anniversary and go on a little "babymoon" while sticking to a bugdet we headed to Logan last Friday. It was really nice just to get away. We went out to dinner and cold stone and watched movies and slept in. We went swimming for the first time since I have been big and it was so nice to take the weight off.

Did anyone see The Office about 2 weeks ago? It was the one with the bat and it was probably the best one I had ever seen. We just kept rewinding and rewinding the part where Dwight fell off the desk. It was brilliant.

My friend and her family have started this thing like My Girlfriend's Kitchen, I am not sure if you have heard of that but we get together once a month and you bring the ingredients for a bunch of the same meal and then you switch meals with everyone and leave with several different meals. I don't know if that makes sense but it is really fun and I went to that tonight so now I have some food for when the baby it here. My friend also invited me to a card party where you bring a bunch of the same card and then switch cards with everyone and you leave with a variety of adorable hand made cards. I went and bought the stuff for them and I am going to make them on Sunday. I am not sure if that makes sense either...it is late.

Speaking of I better go, I still have to cut moms hair and get mine trimmed before I go to bed and my elephant ankles are definitely ready for bed. I love you all and I will write again sooner so it won't be such a novel next time.

Love Jess

Bavaria- Post Coming Soon

I'm sorry I haven't been posting. Reading the computer screen makes me sick almost every time I try. Besides, I have nothing to tell. I am a terrible sick person. I complain all the time, I feel sorry for myself, you are all lucky to not hear from me. The gummi bear is alive and well, heartbeat and everything. They do ultra sounds at every appt. here. Kind of fun. I love you all.