Austin's 3rd Birthday

This little boy could not wait for his birthday!

He requested strawberry cupcakes for his birthday dessert.

The following day, Grandma and Grandpa took him to Build-A-Bear for their traditional 3-year-old birthday present. Austin chose to make a dog--Chase from Paw Patrol.

Austin was very nervous about his 3yo well visit, but he did well, even while getting his blood pressure taken and the vision test. He is in the 5th percentile for his height and 21st percentile for his weight. (I'm sad that he's so short.)

One thing that people pick up on quickly is how well Austin speaks in complete sentences with a high level of vocabulary. He says things frequently that impress Matt and me. He loves to volunteer to say prayers and says them independently. After his older brothers all leave for school, he says, "And now it's just me and Mommy." I love spending time with him each day. Austin loves to sing his ABCs and read books and help me bake.

Time Out For Women 2018

A big thank you to all our husbands for letting us have a weekend away!

We did some shopping and enjoyed Jason's Deli for Dinner on Friday night.

Friday night listening to the speakers. My favorite was probably Tom Christofferson--loved the message but his delivery was a bit sleepy. 

Kari put together a cute bag full of snacks, gum, pen, notebook, and these relaxing/nourishing face masks!

Saturday my favorite speaker was the last: Laurel Day. I also really enjoyed S. Michael Wilcox's message about analyzing Christ's questions in the book of John. City of Enoch also had great music.

Any chance to have a break from "Mom" duties feels awesome, but it's even better to spend time with these awesome ladies and be spiritually fed. So fun to bond!

Six Flags Amusement Park

With my parents home from their mission, Matt and I did took advantage of a weekend away at Six Flags at the end of July. The kids were so jealous that we promised we would take them at the end of the summer. So on September 18th, it was their turn to go to the amusement park. To say they were excited was an understatement. 

Just finished the first ride and ready to run to the next one!

Bryson and I on a pirate ship

Bryson driving a car

Austin and I in the backseat as passengers

 Jared and his family decided to join us which helped for switching off and taking turns on rides.

A boat ride

This wigged Caleb out!

When Matt and I went in July, we splurged and bought a fast pass so we spent less time waiting in line. The downside was that there wasn't much of a break between rides, and after the 3rd spinning ride in a row, I almost threw up. I was done for the rest of the day. All the rides just caught up to me! We ended up leaving an hour earlier than we planned on, but we did ride all the rides! We planned to ride some rides again but didn't because I wasn't feeling well.

Going with the kids, I was careful to take breaks between rides so that I wouldn't feel that awful again. However, both Caleb and Carter got sick like I did. They both had headaches and Carter actually did throw up in some bushes. We were all tuckered out and left at 4pm. The boys were bummed that they didn't get to ride one ride that shut down early because someone had a heart-attack on it. There were about 5 rides they missed out riding because they weren't feeling well. :( Because we did the driving and the park all in one day, it made for one LONG day. I have to add that Carter threw-up again in the car on the way home--not fun. The boys are already asking to go back though!