Sept- Week 3- State Fair, Dan's Bro-cation, Condies, Ensign Peak Hike, Last Soccer Game, Silver Lake

Thursday morning I went for a 2 mile run.  I babysat Clara, then after lunch the kids and I went to City Creek with my mom and dad to run a couple errands.  My favorite Clarke flip flops BROKE! Because they are SO good, I went to their store to see if they had any sort of warranty or guarantee.  They don't really, but the clerk was nice enough to let me basically EXCHANGE them!  I got a brand new pair of Clarkes for only $10!

Anna learned about the letter B at preschool and loved playing on Grandpa's phone.  

That evening we went to the Utah State Fair with my parents and sister.  

We love the pretend farmer display.  

The kids were also spoiled this year and got to ride the ponies! 

We loved seeing the animals, arts and crafts (Ben especially loved the Legos) and of course the butter sculpture.  The highlight of the night was definitely when we got some fried treat samplers.  

Fried oreos, twinkies, and cheesecake.  By FAR, the fried cheesecake was the favorite!

Friday Bethany did some bonding with my mom.  :)

The kids had friends over for play dates, then we took Dan to the airport for a quick weekend get-away "Bro-cation" with his mom and brothers to San Jose and San Francisco.  

 They copied our girl pictures from our last Girls trip.  

 They even made on the TV!  

 Friday evening, the kids and I went to Davey and Mary's to hang out with my Grandma Jeanne.  It was the first time I saw my grandma with a babydoll that she mostly understands is not real, but she still loves holding it and taking care of it.  She had a hard time understanding that Bethany was MY baby and not hers.  

Saturday I went for a 2 mile run, eat breakfast with this kids, shower, then take the girls grocery and BD present shopping for Brinley. 

  That evening my parents got all dolled up for my mom's 40th High School reunion!  They had such a great time they didn't even get home until 11pm! Party Animals! 

 Sunday after church we went and visited with the Condies and had Pizza for dinner!  Then my dad headed back home to FL while my mom would stay for another week.  

Monday I went visiting teaching, did laundry, drove carpools, and in the evening we had a quick FHE about how we need baptism and other ordinances to help us return to Heavenly Father.  That night we told my mom about some exciting news... (More on that later)

 Tuesday Anna had preschool at Holley's house learning about the letter Cc.  I also went walking with my friend Rachael for 2 miles.  

That afternoon, my mom was nice enough to babysit Anna and Bethany for me so I could take Ben on a little hike to Ensign Peak with Meg Miles and her "Momstrong" group.  

It's not a very long hike, but it sure is steep.  As soon as we got to the top, Ben asked where the Utes stadium is.  Such a dedicated fan! Also at the top, Meg Miles gave a quick lesson about healthy eating tips! 

 When we got home, I made Ben take a nap so he would have some energy for his soccer game that evening.  We also squeezed in one last swimming session at the Winegar pool.  

 Go Voltage! 

 We loved being able to play with one of his best buddies, Henry Alexander! 

 A FUN season for sure!  Way to go Ben and Coach Dan!! 

 That night we Facetimed my dad about our big news... (still, coming later)

Wednesday, right after picking up Ben, I drove the kids up to Silver Lake up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  The leaves were gorgeous and we even saw a deer and lots of squirrels and chipmunks.  The visitor's center was pretty cool too. 

 We were supposed to meet Swa and Lara up there as well, but we couldn't make our timing match up.  Oh well, the kids did well and enjoyed the beauty! 

We rushed back to pick up McKenna and then I headed to the dermatologist to have him freeze a little something off my face.  That evening we had a nice dinner at the scout court of honor. 

Sept- Week 2- Ward Camp out, Hail Storm, Dan and Anna Ice Cream Date

Thursday we hosted Anna's preschool again and the kids were more comfortable and therefore, more rowdy as well.  :)  Anna also had this wicked bug (possibly spider) bite on her leg.  She never had a fever or complained about it much, but it sure looked bad!

That evening we had Joana over for dinner; she would be our babysitter at the end of the month while Dan and I go on our 10th wedding anniversary cruise.  The kids made a list of 20 questions we could ask her to help us get to know her!  It was fun and the kids were so cute.  

Friday I went to ladies lunch, then grocery shopping.  We packed for our ward camp out and ended up arriving around 6:30pm during the potluck dinner.  After dinner, the kids played at the park and Dan played ultimate frisbee where our friend, Steven Day, broke his nose when we caught the follow-through of Nic Paulson.  Once it was dark, the kids played a lot with glow sticks and we had s'mores. Right before turning in for the night, we saw this little skunk friend walking around our pavilion looking for snacks.  

Overnight it got much colder than I think we were prepared for.  McKenna ended up sleeping in between Dan and I.  And Bethany (who slept in the van in the pack n play) was certainly much colder than when we had gone camping in Logan just one month earlier.  

Saturday morning we layered up the kids and hung out by the fire waiting for the warm sun to come over the mountains.  The organizers, Stan and Joanne Clapham, made a huge delicious breakfast!  As the sun came up, we could take off a few layers.  The kids especially love being able to play by and in the water! Many played Bingo and other card games, as well as ladder ball.   We had a huge taco salad bar for lunch, then packed up and cleaned up and left by 2pm.  

Beautiful Fall colors in the mountains!

Later that evening, I went to the Stewart's to babysit while they went to the BYU/Utah game.  I loved being able to watch the game with the Stewart kids who are all mostly BYU fans!  Clara gave me a little scare when I found her out of her crib and sleeping on the floor with Henry.  Silly boy pulled her out of the crib.  But thankfully, she stayed up there! 

Sunday we enjoyed a wonderful Regional Conference.  In the evening we hosted a few families from the ward for root beer floats.  

Monday evening was the Nelson Family Party celebrating September BDs.  We got there early enough to have the girls snap this cute picture with Grandfather and Grandma! 

Tuesday I got a better "first day of preschool" picture with Anna.

Bethany just doing some baby Yoga.  

Ben's soccer game was canceled that evening due to big storms that rumbled through.  In fact, this was some hail we got that woke up us in the middle of the night! 

Since soccer was canceled, Dan came home and took Anna out on an ice cream date he had been promising her.  

From time to time he had to lick the edges of her cone to "clean things up."  She obviously didn't like that, as seen in these pictures here you can see her "punch" him too. ;) 

Wednesday my parents got into town (for my mom's 40th High School reunion)!  Bethany was all about my dad and would rarely leave him alone!  

Sept- Week 1- Utah Game, Anna Inhaler, Labor Day, Bethany First Steps!

Ben's latest Lego creation: Dumbledor's office from Harry Potter.  It's unreal how much time this boy (and his father) spent building this monster

 Thursday I went for a 2 mile run.  I babysat Clara and met with the ward camp director and later the YW Presidency to discuss everyone's desires for camp next Summer.  

Then later that day Anna's back-to-school cold had taken a turn for the worse. She was coughing almost constantly even when she was resting on the couch.  I decided to cancel my plans for the evening, which was to go with Dan to the Utah game.  Instead, I took Anna to the doctor.  So the Utah ticket wouldn't go to waste, Dan took Ben!  I'm sure Ben had a better time than I would have. ;) As it turns out, at the doctor's, Anna's blood oxygen level was between 85-90, when it should be above 90+.  The doc decided to give her an albuterol treatment which definitely helped.  He also gave her a steroid and an inhaler prescription for at home.  I've been wondering for about a year now if she has some form of asthma.  She's still quite young for an official diagnosis, but basically the doctor said if she responds positively to the albuterol, she most likely has some degree of asthma.

As it turns out, Ben did have a blast at the game and was basically the mascot of the game for all the Webster family members in attendance.      

Friday we had a follow-up at the doc for Anna and her blood oxygen level was much higher.  They gave her another steroid and we were supposed to use the inhaler every 4-6 hours for another day.  We babysat the Winegar kids in the afternoon.
Friday night was our first family dinner at our new table! 

Saturday, I ran 2 miles and Dan took McKenna on a bike ride.  I did some yardwork and then I took the three older kids to see Secret Life of Pets with Mickelle and Jonathan.  M and J came over to play for the rest of the afternoon. 

Sunday after Dan was home from church we headed up to Mantua for the Labor Day holiday with some of Dan's family.  Dan's parents did a little family home evening lesson about the gospel being preached to all nations.  

We played "Head Up" after the kids when to bed.  

Monday we were in charge of breakfast for everyone.  We made pancakes, bacon, and clementines.  We cleaned up then went for a 3.5 mile hike with our family and Swa and Whitney.  

We actually took this picture at the end of the hike, but this is the beginning of the trail.  

Some of the beautiful scenery.  Dan started out carrying Anna and I carried Bethany.  About halfway up, Bethany got pretty fussy due to being tired.  I tried to re-position her, but in the end, she only calmed down when Dan took her.  

He got her to sleep and for fear of waking her, I was then in charge of carrying Anna!  Phew!  She's 30lbs.  

The kids did fairly well considering it was a pretty ambitious distance to hike.  Here we are the top.  We even saw a marriage proposal written in a field from up there! 

We had leftovers for lunch, then Dan took Ben and McKenna out on the reservoir on the jet skis along with some other cousins and uncles.  The little girls stayed back for naps, and cleaning out the garage.  We had a lovely BBQ dinner, cleaned up, and left by 7:15.  

Tuesday, I hosted and taught our neighborhood co-op preschool with Anna and her friends (McKayla, Desi, and Beck) for the first time.  We did the letter Aa!  We started with ABC and Animal puzzles.  

The kids each got a turn to "pick some apples of my tree."  

 That evening we had soccer.  Go Voltage! 

Team cheer!  

 This week was also the week leading up to the BYU Vs. Utah football game.  We hung our "House Divided" flag, but also needed to trim back our roses so the thorns wouldn't catch the flag.  I had some wonderful fresh roses for the week. :) 

Tuesday night while the kids were just about to head to bed, Bethany took her first steps!

*Bethany's First Steps!*

Wednesday Camille came over for a play date.

Aug- Week 4- Ben's First Day, 98* Concert, Mantua with Friends, Aug. BD Dinner, McK Starts Dance, Cub Scout Carnival, New Table

Ben had his first day of Kindergarten!  I could tell he was a little nervous mostly because he was very serious.  He was so ready and is doing so well!  Love this handsome boy!

I was able to exercise a little while before driving carpool to pick up Ben.  We give rides to Bennett Camp and Jordan Slaugh from the 1st Ward.  They were both in Ben's preschool class at Adelaide.  They are funny boys who love to tease each other!

That afternoon we met Joana for the first time, who had agreed to babysit for us while we go on our 10th wedding anniversary cruise.  Kind of a job interview.  The kids were sad when she left because they were thinking she was going to babysit right then! 

I also noticed this day both McKenna and Ben were being much more emotional than usual!  Starting back into school, schedules, and expectations is hard on kids!  We had FHE that evening about letting our light shine.  

Tuesday Dan gave an UBER ride to Jeff Timmons from the boy band 98*!  He was very nice and when Dan told him I was a fan, he gave him free tickets for their concert that night!  So of course we scrambled for a babysitter (Livia and Melanie Mortensen) and we went with my sister and Dan's sister, Swa.  

Dan wasn't so sure this was the best decision. ;) 

 It was a blast! Not a very well attended concert for sure, but still way fun!  We got to hear MANY of our favorite pop songs from the 90s.  Dan was even up and dancing on the very last song! 

 The girl band Dream and another boy band O-Town opened for them.  Such a blast from the past! 

Wednesday was a normal "drive kids everywhere" kind of day.  But again, we dealt with some high emotions.  

Here are some darling pictures of Bethany though.  Look at all her teeth!  And it is her "job" to empty this drawer. :) 

Snuggles ("Mom, take a picture of us.") and more cute faces.  

I took this video just to show some of Bethany's cute expressions.

Bethany is also getting the hang of using her walker.  

I also took this video mostly to get Anna's expressive faces.  Sorry the volume is so quiet.  She's telling me about her ponies.  

Wednesday after baths, her hair is all big after blow drying.  (Another "Take a picture of me" pose.)

And here are Bethany's CURLS after baths! 

Thursday I had a meeting with some neighbor moms to plan Anna's co-op preschool.  

Friday Dan attended a golf tournament as a representative for his employer. As a non-profit, they were the charity of choice so they raised a ton of money...so great!!  Then in the afternoon we headed to Mantua with friends from the ward; the Alexanders, Roths, and Moultons.  We had homemade pizza that evening for dinner, the kids played outside, we made a fire and had s'mores, and we stayed up late talking and laughing! 

The next day we had a pancake breakfast and the kids swam even though it was kind of windy and chilly.  We had a hot dog lunch, some went on ranger rides, followed by more swimming.  We cleaned up and got an ice cream cone from the general store with the Moultons then left by 5:15.  We ate at Sweeto Burrito on the way home...soooo good!

Sunday I was called and sustained to be the assistant ward camp director.  I'm excited to be working with my friend Erica who is the camp director! 

Dan got a little snooze before we headed to Webster Sunday family dinner. Sundays are tough :)

We had a Back-to-School themed dinner with lunch trays and all, and celebrated Pidi's BD.  I gave her a Brazil coin necklace made by a friend of mine, Kelly Sansom.

These baby girls were stealing Pidi's dessert right and left!  

Monday McKenna and our friend Brittana started their first day of hip-hop dance class!  I went to observe and had a hard time sitting still cause I just wanted to dance with them! 

Tuesday I went running, cleaned my shower, and my visiting teacher's came.  We had soccer that night.   

 Anna and Bethany unfortunately started not feeling well that night.  My two little girls who are NOT in school, got back-to-school colds. :( 

Wednesday  the colds made for some good snuggles though.  Ben had Jordan and Bennett over to play, and McKenna had a school friend over also when she got home.  I got a great picture of Anna trying to sleep through Bethany crying during carpool.  Ben went to his music class while I took the girls to the Cub Scouts' little carnival they planned all by themselves.  

That night we also sold our old kitchen table so we could buy a new one!  Our original table was a hand-me-down from Dan's Grandfather. It expands with 4 leafs, but only came with 4 chairs.  We no longer cared for the stain color and our family had definitely outgrown the four chairs.  We figured if we wanted to restain the table and chairs and buy another set of 4 chairs, it would cost about the same as this new table we fell in love with at Costco.  

Out with the old...

 In with the new! 

This table seats 8 total.  The other two chairs are at the bar and I love McKenna and Ben sitting there in the morning for breakfast!