Arizona

Connor, Chloe, Jared, Cooper, Raeleigh




So, we have been in Arizona for two weeks and Seth has FINALLY come! He got here Friday night and we are SOOOOO excited! I drove down alone with the kids two weeks ago for Grandpa's funeral and we made it in 13 1/2 hours. Not bad for a 12 hour trip and 3 stops with two kids alone! We even came in the JEEP and I am happy to say it did AWESOME! Those of you that doubt the JEEP, you should apologize!

It is way stinkin' HOT here but the company makes up for it! After the funeral everyone came to Mom and Dad's and we got this way cute picture of all the babies in order of age. If it were in size Doughy and Kaija's kids would be first! It was so fun to get them all together! We have been canning like crazy (beans, enchilada sauce, salsa, corn, jam and beef) and playing in the water everyday! Seth tied to surprise us by catching an earlier flight but still didn't get here until about 7:30 p.m. His mom and the girls still had shopping to do. That's okay, Seth got to prove his shopping skills (he is actually pretty good) and made it just in time for baths! I had been doing corn all day so it also gave me a chance to at least shower before he got here!

So far we have had a blast. Logan has gotten to play with lots of cousins and has LOVED it. He is still the little guy and really gets demanding on I'm sure on the older kids' nerves but they are so good to him. He has gotten to ride the horse with Grandpa, swim at the pool and ate 5 slices of pizza, paint a truck and himself and ride in the ranger with Papa. Chloe has gotten super quick at crawling and LOVED swimming. I'm sure we will have plenty more adventures to come before we leave!

We aren't sure how long we are here and are just enjoying the time together! Hope all is well with everyone!

Grandpa

So I know this is a little belated but I just wanted to put up a quick post about Grandpa Norton. On Saturday, July 12th my dad called and said he passed away (my mom's dad). He has been sick for a long time but this was completely unexpected. So, Monday morning the kids and I drove down for the funeral on Wednesday. The service was beautiful and what a tribute the a man of faith, honor, and love. Grandpa was such an amazing person and will be missed by all. However, he isn't in pain anymore and we are so grateful for the Plan of Salvation the gospel provides and the opportunity we have to see him again. If you don't mind, keep Grandma in your prayers, she is learning to adjust. I love this man so much and know that he is in a better place doing the Lord's work. I am so grateful for his and Grandma's example of what true love really is. I pray my grandchildren will be able to say the same. Thanks Grandpa for your many examples, love and support.

Life Just Keeps Moving On

That is probably the biggest lesson we've learned these past few weeks. It doesn't matter what we are going through, life keeps moving and we have to as well, no matter how bad our day is.

So, life has been busy as usual. Seth is beginning finals for his summer term. I can't believe it is almost over! Where has summer gone? We went camping over the 4th of July with the Carlsons, Petersens and the Hansens. It was a blast! It was so nice to get out of town for a few days! The kids LOVED it and Logan still asks when we are going camping again. We went on this little hike down to a lake to go fishing. The hike down was smooth, all downhill. Coming back however was another story. I had all the stuff and Seth had the two kids (Logan in the backpack and carrying Chloe) and they were both asleep. The combination of extra weight, altitude, out of shape and way up hill, the hike back left us all wasted. The kids were wired and ready to play when we got back and we were all wiped out. It was still so much fun!

The Wilkins family has made it to Colorado and officially are in their house! Woohoo! We've been helping as much as we can and the house is really lookin' good! We are super excited to have them joining us here. It is nice to have family so close!

Kids are getting big. You can understand more of what Logan is saying now and he is showing more and more character everyday. For instance, at night when it is time for bed he comes out at least 4 times saying, "I need water, I need socks, I need blankie" and whatever other excuse he can find. It is kind of funny..... for about 5 minutes! We had a pretty scary incident with him. He woke up one morning two weeks ago with a fever and it got worse throughout the morning. Chloe just had Roseola a few days before and we thought that is what he was getting. I gave him some Tylenol and he acted a little tired but still played. Well, I was cleaning the bathroom and heard him say, "mama" and I turned and his fingers and toes were blue, shaking, could hardly stand and his heart was racing. I called the doctor's office (thankfully I got Erin, our good friend and go-to nurse) and they said that a fever would do that and to give him the medicine again (it was almost time) and see if it will go down. If not and his shakes don't go away to call again and get him in. It didn't go away so I took him in. The made us stay for a while until his heart rate went down (about an hour) and said it was viral. That happened to be the day that we went to pick Seth up at school and Logan puked all over the car on the way there. Yuck! His fever got to 103.8 (they said at 104 to take him to Children's) and I was way nervous. The Motrin wasn't helping his heart was racing. Seth and Dee gave him a blessing and that night his fever broke and he's fine. I'm so grateful for the Priesthood in our home and a husband that honors it.

Chloe is crawling. AHHHHH! She gets where she wants to, pretty slowly. She hasn't figured out yet that she can get anywhere now. Time for the gate again. She has a little attitude on her but is so much fun! We definitely know who the boss of this house is!

Life has been kind of rough these past few weeks but we have realized how blessed we really are, what matters most in life and that the Lord is truly aware of us and our circumstances. We have been blessed beyond measure and our faith is growing. We have to keep reminding ourselves that trials only make us stronger and the Lord will not give us anything that we cannot handle.

Until next time...... we hope everyone is healthy and well!

You Know It's A Bad Day When.....

You wake up to your car looking like this. Someone hit the Jeep in the middle of the night and drove off. Short version of a long story.... we found an oil trail from the vehicle that hit it that led to someone's house that is a few blocks back but because of lack of evidence, there is nothing the police can do. It is drivable (once we can get it to pass emissions) and and we have since fixed the back window. GRRRRRR! They must have been drunk, who else hits parked cars!