Kyles 1st D-Backs Game

 What a fun night this was.  Our last night in AZ.  we decided to go to a Diamond-Backs Game!  

We are never in AZ. during baseball season, so it has taken us over 7 years of marriage to get to a game.  Crazy.  Especially since I have been to at least 100 major league baseball games.  And HE had not been to ONE!  So we went with our little family, my mom, and Kyles dad.  (His dad drove to az. for the funeral.  What a wonderful support he was!)

Below: Kyle and I cheesin it up!

 Kyle holding Konnor... Btw: the kids did great the WHOLE game!  The one to be fussy was Kase (6mon) only because his wonderful mom would cheer too loud and scare him.  Sorry buddy.  I get a little crazy sometimes.

 

At the ballpark they have a kids play area!  It was so sweet!  So right around the 6th inning, we headed over there to check it out, and let the kids have a little break.  It was so cool.  There was like 3-4 slides, and playhouses, and even a spot to play baseball.  It was a mini version of a field, and the kids would hit the ball that was pitched by a guy dressed up as a D-back pitcher, and then they got to run the bases.  It was so awesome.  However, my kids just wanted to go down the slides over and over and over! Check out these smiles!

 Then we got to meet Gonzo. (Luis Gonzalez)  With a very large head! We also met Randy Johnson, and Matt Williams.  It was so fun.  Kaylee loved them and Konnor was totally fascinated!

We had a great time, and they ended up winning 13-8.  

Then we got on the road and drove through the night back home!  Long night, long drive, but the kids slept!  It was worth it!

The Funeral...

  

Ella McDonough was one of the greatest influences in my life!

I was very honored and grateful that I was able to give the Eulogy at her funeral.  We were very close.  Here is a little bit of my talk... just to give a glimpse at this remarkable woman!

"What I’ll remember most : The fun things first-  I remember fixing her hair when I was little, even if she didn’t need it done.  I remember us watching “The Price Is Right”. I remember her potato soup- THE ONLY thing to make me feel better when I was sick.  Her love for the bird named Buster!  I remember going to her house everyday before and after school.  It was like my home too!  I was even asked to prom at her house because my date new I would always be there with my grandma.  I remember going shopping with her and finding the best deals at Mervyns and JC Penneys.  The color yellow will forever be HER color, Chocolate covered graham crackers, the smell of Noxzema crème, her famous fudge, her love of animals, The serious things- Grandma was a woman of poise, grace, and truth.

Grandma taught me what selfless service and love really is.  She was a woman of giving.  She would help ANYONE who needed it.  Even if she didn’t have much to give, she would give it to whomever needed it.  She ALWAYS had her bible next to her.  What a great example to each of us of just how valuable the scriptures are in our everyday lives.  She was a faithful Christian woman, who lived her life with honor, integrity, faith, and love."  She was ALWAYS honest. 

My little family at her burial service.

I loved her and she loved me.  In fact, on the evening of her funeral my aunt Ann and I were coming back to her house.  And as we rounded the corner on her street, we saw the most gorgeous sunset the eye has ever seen!  This picture is pretty, but still didn't quite capture it. (the houses were in the way) The sky was brilliantly YELLOW (grandmas color).  It looked like the sky was on fire with a yellow blanket of shimmer.  I told my aunt "look at the sunset Grandma left for us tonight."  She quickly responded, "It is her way of telling me that everything is going to be ok."  We both cherished the tender moment in the car.  Then we got the family to come out and see it with the camera.  

 My grandma was such a WONDERFUL example to me of many Christlike qualities.  I hope I can become half the woman she was.

I am so thankful that I know that God has a plan for us.  This mortal life we live is just a small moment.  Death is NOT the end.  We will see our loved ones again, and we DO have the blessing of a family that lasts FOREVER, as we live our lives the best we can.    

For more info on Gods Plan for us click HERE.

My Angel Grandma

I am not exactly sure how to start this blog post.  I have been thinking about it and everything I come up with just doesn't seem to do her justice.  All my life, I have had a VERY close relationship with my Grandma, Ella McDonough!  She passed away April 6, 2011.  Two weeks prior to her death, I was getting phone calls from my family telling me to come see her.  She doesn't have much time.  So, my AwEsOmE husband bought me a plane ticket to go to AZ. to see her.  I took the baby with me and spent a few days by her side.  It was a special time for me.  She was 92 years old and she lived a long, good life.  Here are a couple pics from that week. My last time to see her alive.

I did her hair a few times, painted her nails, gave her a foot rub, made her a fruit/spinach smoothie, read her scriptures, made her some Easter eggs to hang on the wall, and bought her some pretty, yellow, artificial flowers to put over her entertainment center.  joked with her, and prayed with her.  Her mind was mostly there, and she got to spend some quality time with her newest Great-Grandson, Kase.  They were SO cute together.  She used up all the energy she could muster, and tickled him and played with him for about 10 min.  It was SO beautiful!  Look at these smiles:

 

And then I got a close up of them holding hands.  This is by far my favorite pic!  You can see the aged, thin, and wrinkled hand of my grandma, and the soft, new, baby skin of my son.  

That was a moment I will treasure FOREVER!

My next post will be on her funeral and the things I will remember most about this remarkable woman in my life!

First Hair Cut!

Pictures can tell a million words right?  So i won't have to type much!  

Before:

 

Look at this long hair!

 Here we go!!!!

 

AFTER, and sealed with a kiss!

For the record:  Kase finally rolled over for the first time yesterday. (April 15, 2011 at 6 mon.)  It's about time boy!  It was funny when he rolled over because, he did it SO fast like it was effortless.  And like he had done it a ton.  So I am wondering, has he done it and I just didn't see, or was he holding out to make it a big production?  ha ha  I love him!

Bumbo and a fools joke

Ok... So, I have a LOT of blogging to do to catch up.  Kase ALWAYS wants to be held so he can see whats going on.  My friend Marie is practically a rep for Bumbo.  She told me that I HAD to get one.  So, I wasn't crazy about spending $40 for a piece of foam.  Especially if this is our last baby.  I might have with the first baby.  Anyhow, I had been searching KSL.  Nothing, But My friend Liberti found this bumbo chair at D.I. for $3 !!!!!!!!!!!!!  I love friends that shop with you in mind!  Ha ha  And luckily, Kase loves it!  He will sit in it while I make dinner or while I am bathing the other two. 

Below:  April Fools Fun
I saw this in a magazine, so I wanted to try it.  It is cupcakes that kinda look like Corn on the Cob.  Kyle bluntly said.."well, that doesn't even look like corn, are we supposed to eat that?"  But Kaylee and Konnor were fooled for just a few min.  I used yellow frosting and jelly bellies for the kernels, and a starburst for the butter slice.  Fun times.

I have a lot to blog about, so I better get on it!   But as you can see I love holidays.  Even the little ones.  We did a few other food fools, but I didn't get a pic in time.

6 months!

Ok, so Kase had his 6 month check up and here are the stats:

Brace yourself, they are a little shocking.  ha ha

His weight was 16lbs. 9 oz. which means he is in the 27%-percentile.

Kyle and I thought for sure he would be in the 50-60% range.  We were wrong!

His length was 26 inches and the 28%-percentile.

Kase's head measurement was 17.6 inches and the 72%.  Lots of brain on this little body!

This week we gave him his first solid food!  That was a fun affair.  We got a bunch of pics of it too.

And Kaylee begged to be the first one to feed him.  I thought that would be a fun memory for her.  Take note to her BIG proud smile!  She had a LITTLE too much food on the spoon for his small mouth, ha ha.  We quickly corrected that, but not before he could spit it out anyway!  ha ha  Our baby is growing up so fast.  I wish in some ways I could slow the hands of time.  But during the moments when he just wants mamma to hold him all day and he won't take more than a 20 min. nap, I think to myself, "This is just for a small moment, cherish it."  Some days I am more successful at that positive thinking than others, but it is my goal non-the-less.