Exciting News

Well, I think it is exciting news... Andrew- not so thrilled. The girls and I are coming home for three weeks in April. I am excited to hang out with my mom and have a change of scenery for awhile. Am I nuts to think that I can fly with three little girls all by myself? Of course. I will probably curse the day I thought up this plan by the time I land in Seattle. However, that is why I have three weeks to get used to the idea of doing it again to get back to Las Vegas. Andrew will survive without us. He may be bored by the time the three weeks are up, but I am sure he will find activities to occupy his time while we are away. And, he's already had dinner invitations from a few of our friends who know we are leaving. Our house may feel a little lonely. This is the first time the girls and I have gone away since Andrew started working from home. I forget that we really are together the majority of the day, even if he is working. Maybe he'll get more done without the noise. :) Anyway, the girls are excited to see Grandma and Grandpa, their cousins, and of course, Candy Grandma. I'm just excited to be coming home... and everything that goes with it.

Springtime Fun

This is a picture of Callie, Alexa and our friend Jordan. We spend a lot of time jumping on the trampoline. However, we have discovered that the real novelty around here is not the tramp, but the swing set. Just about all the neighbors have tramps- we are one of the few houses that have a swing set. Now, if we could just expand our swing set so that we had twice as many swings, we'd be in business. For now, I get to play the fairness monitor when it comes to time spent on the swings. It would also be nice if Callie could grow about five inches and not need to be pushed.

Rub a Dub-Dub, Three Girls in a Tub

We have had beautiful weather this week here in St. George. The girls have played outside everyday. I LOVE IT!! However, it means way more baths during the week. I forget how dirty little kids get when they are outside. Leah, who hates baths, had her first bath in the big tub with the other girls. (I will spare you from viewing any pictures). She cried for the first few seconds and then realized that if she threw her hands in the water, she could splash her sisters and make them mad. She loved that! It looks like we finally won the war with the water!!

Crazy Glasses

This is Leah telling Callie she had had enough of the action and just wanted to be left alone.
Callie thought Leah should also have a piece of the action.

So, we are trying to potty train Callie. She is resisting with everything that is in her tiny little body. Yesterday she actually went on the toilet!! It was a momentous event and she got her treat, which was the crazy Easter glasses. Alexa, who of course says life isn't fair because Callie is receiving treats, was happy when Callie decided to share her treat. How do you explain to a four year old that she got treats when she was potty trained too? Is it my fault it only took a day to potty train her so the treat thing was short lived? It's amazing how different these girls are: polar opposites you might say. Anyway, the glasses were a hit.

It only took us eight and a half months, but Leah is FINALLY sitting up by herself. I didn't think this day was ever going to come. I'm hoping she will someday crawl or maybe even walk...

Her shirt says, "My Heart belongs to Daddy" and it truly does. Callie has always been Daddy's girl. She told me a couple days ago that football and soccer were two of her favorite shows on TV... she's so cute.

Callie and Alexa. I don't think I have ever seen Callie smile so big!

Valentine's Pictures

We had a fun Valentine's Day... mostly because we have cute girls that think the day should be extra special. We gave them each a new book (they already get enough junk to eat from other people), Grandma and PopPop came over to deliver a Valentine's gift to each of them, and we delivered Valentines to friends. Alexa was especially excited to get a "ring and run" Valentine from a friend. Can you imagine living in our house twelve years from now when our three girls really think Valentine's Day should be something special?! Ugh!

Snow

Yes, that is snow on our trampoline. We had a good two inches a couple weeks ago. The girls loved it... sort of. They had a taste of snow when we went up north. Did you know that snow is wet like water? My girls had no idea! I suppose I am failing as a mother if my kids don't even know that snow is supposed to be wet. Anyway, it was fun to see it fall, fun to see it accumulate, and we are glad that it is gone! We should see weather in the mid 60's this week. YEA!!!!!

My "Bling"

So, a few weeks ago I was in the church parking lot waiting for all the Mia Maids to show up so we could leave to do our service hours at the D.I. As we pulled away to pick up one of our other leaders at her house, I noticed my wedding ring was turned. As I went to turn it around, there was this large hole where my diamond should have been. It's safe to say that I was a little upset. I had girls looking through my car, girls looking through the other leader's car (because I had been in there too), Andrew looking at home, and a group went back to the church to see if they could find it on the ground outside. Believe it or not, they found it in the parking lot of the church close to where my car had been parked. A miracle? I think so. So, I've been wearing this fake ring until I get mine fixed. It's a ridiculous size... I always feel a little self-conscious with it on. One Saturday I was sitting in the church with the youth waiting for the Best of EFY to start when the young woman next to me looked at my ring and said, "Oh, I love your bling. It's huge." I guess I'm getting old. Is that really how youth refer to such things as wedding rings? Anyway, it made me laugh.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Yesterday was Andrew's birthday. He's not a fan of making a big deal of these things. His little girls, however, LOVE birthdays and wanted a party. We compromised: no big party, but he did have to blow out candles and let us sing to him. Alexa, who spent the whole morning calling herself the party planner and writing notes on a notepad, decided that it wasn't the huge deal she wanted, but it would do. So, Happy Birthday, Andrew... your girls love you.
This picture is Andrew and Alexa getting ready to blow out the candles.

Benjamin and Alexa- they have spent the majority of their little lives playing together. I'm still waiting for that one day to arrive when we get together and they realize that they are boy and girl and are grossed out that they are friends. Alexa lives for the days that we go up north to visit Benjamin. We wish they still lived a half a mile down the road!

Hana and Alexa... this little playhouse saved all adults from having to referee fighting during the course of the evening. It was a huge success.

Callie, Alexa, David and Hana eating dinner. I'm not sure if any of them ate anything, but they did have fun!

A Night with Friends

We had the chance to spend the evening with old college friends while we were up north for the funeral. Thanks to John and Rach for hosting all of us! It was great to see everyone's kids!! I think the last time we all lived near each other, there were four babies: Benjamin, David, Hayden and Alexa. Now there are 18... I think. And, I am happy to report that there are just as many girls as boys, if not more. Can you all remember the days where I was convinced Alexa would eternally be the only girl in our little world? We loved being with all of you! Tracey and Tom, we missed you!

A Tragic Story

On January 6th, a childhood friend, Kristy Ragsdale, was gunned down by her husband in a church parking lot in Lehi. She was my sister's best friend. She was shot several times and died almost instantly. She left behind two adorable boys- ages 4 and nearly 2. As the story unraveled and more details came out from family and friends, Kristy's life was not one that most would have expected. Anyone who knew Kristy saw her as a strong, opinionated, in control of herself woman. She had a beautiful home, a beautiful family, and was incredibly talented. No one would have anticipated the struggles Kristy had in the final months of her life. This tragedy has really affected my views on a few things. First: abuse, whether it be physical, verbal, emotional, etc., can happen to anyone- even those people who you think would be least likely to suffer from it. Second: the trials I face may seem difficult and sometimes impossible to face, but I would rather have mine than someone else's. Third: The Lord never leaves us to face our trials alone. Even Kristy found some measure of peace in the final weeks of her life. Two of my sisters and I attended the funeral. It was a strange mix of emotions, but I left feeling relief for Kristy that her time of true peace had come. My sister Honor, who knew Kristy so well, said something that also affected me. She said she wished she would have tried a little harder to visit Kristy when she had been in town, that she would have called a little more frequently, and been the best friend she knew she could have been. I hope that will always stay with me too. I hope I can be that person who tries harder to keep in contact with old friends, who makes a phone call on a whim, and visits when I'm in town.
Kristy was dearly loved and will be missed by all who knew her.
If anyone would like to read more about Kristy, I suggest you read memories from her family and friends: www.kristymemoryblog.blogspot.com/

Isn't she the tiniest thing? Leah is more than petite. I have to keep reminding myself that she started at 5 pounds. Christmas doesn't mean much to a seven month old, but she had a great time watching her sisters.

Callie loves ripping the paper to shreds. She's really good at it and is really fun to watch. She also would take each gift, open it, kiss it and say "I missed you!" It was really funny.

Alexa with her favorite gift: a Littlest Pet Shop video game.

Christmas Morning

We had a great Christmas. The girls had so much fun. I love seeing them happy and excited. It was great because both Callie and Alexa were excited and understood opening presents. It's so much more fun when you have more than one kid who gets it.

PJ's

Another of our traditions: new pajamas for Christmas Eve. That is one of the funnest things about having all girls: I can make them match whenever I feel like it. Unfortunately, Alexa is starting to make comments about the matching thing. I wonder how much longer I can go before she flat out refuses.

Santa

So, Santa comes to Grandma and PopPop Hench's house every year on Christmas Eve. The kids love it, of course. Well, last year Alexa (who is way too smart for her age) said, "Hey, that's not Santa- that's PopPop!!" Oops. It took some major convincing that it wasn't PopPop. This year, Santa didn't make the same mistake by being a PopPop look-a-like. We were impressed that they both sat on his lap and didn't freak out. For some reason my kids are never really thrilled to sit on Santa's lap. (Gotta love when you catch your kid picking their nose in a picture)

The tags... if I hear about it one more time....

So, we always get new dresses for Christmas- most people do, right? My girls have worn their dresses once- December 23rd. They refuse to wear them anymore because the tags itch. Even when the tags are cut out, they claim they can still feel something itching them. What's their deal? Extra-sensitive skin? Possibly. They thought they were ugly? Not likely. There are little daggers inside the seams that really are irritating them to death? Hmm... I can't figure it out. Well, they were cute for a day- Next year I will buy skirts.

Gingerbread Houses

This is the girl's favorite part of the holidays. What it mostly means for me is a lot of work and a huge clean-up at the end. It's a shame that candy has to be round and rolls so easily... especially when you have a two year old who loves to take everything in handfuls. They had a great time. And then, the Gingerbread House sat on the counter for a month. One morning it was gone! The girls had no idea what could have happened to it. I think one of them even said something about not getting a chance to say good-bye. Luckily, I could console them by reminding them that there is always next year. Ahh..... good times.

Hello!

I think maybe I fell off the earth for a few months... possibly was abducted by aliens or something... I am finally getting back to real life. We have had a few really busy and crazy months. I am going to try to backtrack as best I can to fill everyone in on what's been going on with us. So, if there are a dozen posts all in one evening, that's why.