Sept. '18- Week 2- Grandfather's 94th BD!, Ben Baseball, Wall Demo, Swimming at Atkin's, Alice 6 Month Check Up, State Fair!

Saturday morning at the ward camp out we hung out, played games, I helped prep lunch, had a good talk with the Moultons, and then we cleaned up our campsite.  We were home by 2:45.  I did lots of laundry and unpacked.  Dan took Ben to go buy a new lawn mower.  After dinner, showers, and bedtime, Dan got a haircut.  

Sunday we watched the "McKenna" movie after church and the kids made birthday cards for Grandfather.  After dinner, we headed to the Church Office Building Auditorium for his 94th birthday celebration!  Dan gave the opening prayer, followed by Russ Jr., Nathan McKellar, and Ashlynn Owens all speaking.  Then Sheri Dew gave an awesome talk about "episodes" in Grandfather's life that helped shape him and what those "episodes" can teach us, his family, as well. Then Wendy spoke.  

Grandfather concluded with some remarks and said the greatest compliment he can give someone is that "they are a covenant keeper!"  Then we took a group picture and had cake.  Can you tell Bethany loved the chocolate? 

Monday I watched "Brave" with Bethany while kids were at school.  After picking up the kids, we met with Becky Smith in the stake to work out a new carpool!  We got a dry wall bid and Ben had a baseball game  that night and got two runs! 

I love his ready to run stance.  

Tuesday I went to Jan Evan's scripture class and we started a new Tuesday routine of Anna eating in the car, I drive kindergarten carpool, then nurse Alice in the car at Bethany's preschool while she eats lunch and we wait for her preschool to start.  Ben had another baseball game that night.  After Dan went to mutual, he started demo!  First, the door trim around the pocket door doorway.   

Wednesday Desi came over to play while Rachael took Brittana to an appointment for her arm.  After school (early out), we were invited to the Atkin's to swim (one last time before it gets too cold)!  After that, we took McKenna and Anna to their music and training and performance classes.  Bethany had a hard time waking up after a nap in the car.  

Thursday I got a cabinet bid and Alice had her 6 month check up.  

Alice 6 month Stats

Height: 25in (1in increase in 1.5 months) 10th%

Weight: 12lbs 3oz (1lb increase in 1.5 months) Below the chart

Head: 50%

She had 4 shots including her first flu shot.  

That night was kind of crazy.  I got a late start to making dinner and therefore we only had about 5-10 minutes to eat before we picked up McKenna and went straight to the kids' school friendship glow in the dark dance.  It was a lot of fun! 

Dan worked some more on wall demo that night.  

Friday Anna and Bethany played at the Alexander's.  Dan stayed home to work some more on the wall.  Anna got to help a little too. 

My ministering sisters (Autumn Cundick and Amy Hamblin) came over.  I also went to ladies lunch and after school we picked the kids up and headed straight to the State Fair! 

A major highlight this year was the CIRCUS!  We were in AWE!  it was so fun but also super hot in the tent.  

We broke the bank by buying dinner food there. Shout out to Dan's cousins who were running the Peaches and Cream booth for hooking us up! The kids had a blast in their one free ride as well as the giant yellow slide! 

Crazy sounding goat! Made us laugh a lot! 

I love Bethany's jumping excitement after the slide! 

Sept. '18- Week 1- Labor Day at Mantua, Alice 6 Months, Collin Fireside, First Days of Ballet, Ward Camp Out.

Saturday Dan was able to go rowing and then mowed the lawn.  Ben had baseball practice.  I did some cleaning and got a haircut from Kira.  That night after kids were in bed, Dan and I watched the movie "Gifted" about a little girl with amazing math skills.  It was a feel good movie.  :) 

Sunday Anna "gave a talk" in primary.  In other words, she stood there and kind of hid while Dan did the talking.  The crumpled up paper is her response to getting the assignment slip of paper.  It's so funny to me how selectively shy she can be.  Nevertheless, we told her how proud of her we were for standing there! 

After church we packed up and headed to Mantua for Labor Day on Monday.  We had taco salad for dinner and after kids were in bed, Dan played Monopoly with some of the family that was up there (Sam and Lara, Adam, Mom and Dad, and Stewarts).  The kids watched Inside Out.  

Monday we had pancakes for breakfast and I played Apples to Apples with McKenna, Katie, Grandma, and Brynn.  Then we all headed outside to go for a walk, ranger rides, and of course swimming!   

 The kids were trying to push uncle Brian in the pool and Ben scratched his back falling in the pool too close to the wall.  McKenna and Katie made this awesome raft out of pool noodles.  

 There was also peach picking!  

 I gave Alice some little bites of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  After about 7 bites she started coughing a little and her chin broke out in this slight rash.  It totally scared me and made us think she may have a peanut allergy.  :( 

 We had hot dogs for dinner and got home and got kids to bed by 9 after delivering some of those peaches to neighbors.  

Tuesday I took Alice's 6 month pictures! 

Dan looked at some flooring samples with us and I got a cabinet and drywall bid.  Anna had her first day of ballet/jazz and loved it and Ben had a baseball game.  

*Alice is finally doing well with eating solids and pooping! 

Wednesday was a busy day once kids were home from school.  We had piano, McKenna had theater, Anna and music, we got Ben's glasses adjusted, then we picked up Del Taco dinner and ate it at Ben's baseball game.  Mickelle met us at the game to babysit and Dan and I left to attend a youth fireside by Collin Kartchner about the harm social media can have on teens, as well as adults.  It was enlightening and he's an entertaining presenter as well.  

Thursday I went walking with Rachael. Afterwards Bethany and Anna played at Alexander's for a bit, and our kitchen floor got measured for a bid.  Bethany had her first day of dance preschool and loved it!  I asked if it made her happy and she says that often now when I pick her up! "It make me so happy!"  I'm also so proud of her.  I could see a tiny lip quiver when I was saying good bye to her, but she was so brave and didn't cry!  She has Miss Jess and loves her! 

That evening Dan and I went to McKenna's Activity Days activity with her.  It was a cookout at the Brown's and was lots of fun! 

Friday Bethany's preschool had a "popsicles in the park" preschool social and it was so fun to have cousins there as well!  

I took Anna straight to school from the park, then babysat Hazel and Ellie for a bit.  Dan came home  early and we packed up for our ward camp out!  It is always such a great time!  The kids play a lot at the nearby park.  There's a yummy potluck dinner and other delicious planned meals.  Dan played Spike Ball with his priests.  Alice slept great in the van and I only had to snuggle Bethany once in the night.  The main downside is there are always loud cars driving by all night on the nearby road which is super lame and always wakes me up at least once.  

Aug. '18- Week 4- Anna's Draws People, Alice Coronation, Webster Park FHE, Ben Bee's Game, McKenna's Student Council Assembly

Wednesday once all the kids left for school, we played in the swing outside for a bit and enjoyed the nice weather.  

I ran some errands after picking the kids up from school.  We had a big heavy thunderstorm for a bit that afternoon.  I also attended Anna's music class with her.  That evening we had a neighbor, Steve Cohen, who is a structural engineer, come take a look at the wall between our kitchen and family room to see if it is a load-bearing wall.  Turns out, it's NOT!  Dan took Alice to his parent's house again for a visit while I got stuff done at home.  She fell asleep in the bouncer. :) 

Thursday I signed Bethany up for Expressions Dance Preschool!  I was having a hard time knowing she liked dancing and wanted to do ballet just as much as Anna, so I signed them both up! I also needed to document Anna's people drawings.  So cute!  And I took a picture during carpool of a cloud that looked like a waterfall.  

Ben went to Eli Forbes birthday pool party that evening and had a blast!  Also, the air had been pretty smokey for a while thanks to some wildfires burning in the mountains.  

Friday after school, McKenna had a play date at Lucy Cherry's and Taggart and Lizzie came over to play with Anna and Ben.  We went out as a family to Joy Luck and then came home and played on the new swing Dan hung outside.  

Saturday Neil Moss came over to talk electrical stuff with us.  He told us where to move everything in the wall we wanted to knock down.  The kids started playing that Alice was their queen and they even held a coronation ceremony for her (on Dan's Instagram).  We did some major cleaning and Ben had baseball practice.  

We had a picnic lunch at Bountiful park then went swimming at the rec center pools! This was something on our Summer bucket list and I'm glad we got to do it before the outdoor pool closed after Labor Day.  

Sunday I felt like we had a very peaceful morning getting ready for church. I always love when that happens.  We watched Beauty and the Beast that afternoon and after dinner we took a walk around the neighborhood and stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's to say hi.  

Monday morning we went to North Canyon Park to visit with Amy, Shelly, and Melissa.  After a normal day of school and homework we went to another park that evening (Creekside) with most of the Webster family for our FHE activity!  We brought peaches and cream for a treat! 

Tuesday I attended Bethany's preschool orientation.  She was pretty excited to try on her ballet stuff!  After dinner, Ben was invited to attend the Bee's baseball game with the Holdstocks.  He had a great time and we're thankful for the Holdstocks helping Ben have some guy time.  

Wednesday Anna went to Emi's house to play before kindergarten and I went to the school to watch McKenna in her first assembly as a member of the student council.  They introduced the 7 habits and she did great! 

We enjoyed Ben's baseball game that night after a busy evening of picking up Anna and McKenna at their after school activities as well.  

Thursday I went walking with Rachael then Desi came over to play.  Alice unfortunately had a runny nose and a bit of a fever. :(  She's getting so wiggly in her crib that sometimes we find her with her legs stuck through the rungs.  We stopped by Allman's Flooring to pick up some samples for new kitchen floors which will be necessary once we knock down that wall. Camille came over to play after school and ended up staying for dinner.  (Bethany brushing Dan's hair.)

After several weeks of Anna (maybe) having separation anxiety and therefore being rather difficult in the behavior department, she finally turned a corner and was the most happy and cooperative child that afternoon!  

Friday Melissa and I went walking with Amy Pugsley to talk about her hubby's alarming kidney failure issues.  *Thankfully it turned out to be sarcoidosis and is treatable.  

The three older kids played at the Alexander's after school and after dinner we went to West Bountiful Park with the Alexander's and then to Hokulia before it closed on Labor Day.  

Aug. '18- Week 3- First Day of School, Matching Uniforms, Back to School Webster Dinner

Wednesday was the first day of school!  The kids were excited and only a little nervous.  

After we dropped off McKenna and Ben to their classes, I took Anna for her kindergarten testing.  She did about how I expected but was more clingy than I thought she would have been.  

Dan went rafting that afternoon with the youth.  After school we went swimming at the Novak's with the Roths, Kumps, Searles, and Andrea Walker and kids who came up from Utah County.  After showers that night I had to get a good picture of Bethany's curls!  Man they're pretty! I just wish her top layer of hair was that curly too.  

Bethany loving her lip stuff! 

Thursday the girls were being adorable! 

After school McKenna got to play the organ at the chapel for a little bit with Sis. Novak.  I went to a meeting for Let's Play Music, McKenna had Activity Days and Ben had his first baseball practice.  After kids were in bed, Dan took Alice to visit his parents while I was productive at home.  

Friday after McKenna and Ben were at school, I went swimming at the Kofoed's with Brynn, Lara, and Ailin and kids.  Grandma and Grandpa stopped by to say hi.  

Ben played at Henry's after school.  I gave Alice some more Miralax in some rice cereal but she threw it up and was pretty somber the rest of the evening.  Clearly she wasn't feeling well.  We had pizza, snuggled, and watched Moana as a family that night.  The next morning at 5am, Alice had a massive blowout!  NOW she felt better!  

Saturday Ben had baseball practice and I went through his uniform clothes.  That night Marcie Mortensen babysat and Dan and I attended the adult session of stake conference.  We had an excellent discussion about ministering with Elder Kopischke.  Then we went to Nielsen's with Brynn and Brian.  

Sunday McKenna and I sang in the stake choir for stake conference.  Grandpa Webster was released as our stake president after 9.5 years of faithful service!! I'm so thankful for his example!  A new presidency was then sustained. President- Tim Farnes, 1st counselor- Kelly Sansom, and 2nd counselor- Jared Wendel.  Elder Kopischke taught about how ministering should lead others to exaltation.  That is the end goal in all we do!  That night we had a back-to-school dinner with all the Websters.  Dan's mom bought us so many supplies!  She's the best!  She said it was better than Christmas and she had chills. :)  (Dan also took this picture of all 5 of us girls trying to get ready in one bathroom that morning!) 

Monday Dan had meetings in Midway at the Zermatt resort.  Anna had her first official day of kindergarten!  She did so well and wasn't nervous at all.  I teared up a little because of how proud of her and excited for her I was!  She wore the uniform that matched McKenna's the best. 

That night I took McKenna, Anna and Alice to the Nelson Family Party at the Lowder's.  Dan took Ben and Bethany to Ben's baseball game.  

Tuesday there was more matching uniforms. So cute! :)  Mickelle hung out with us that evening and we also visited Desi Alexander who just had her tonsils out.  

I got this sweet video of Alice laughing as her hands were being tickled by Dan's whiskers.  

Aug. '18- Week 2- Dan and Ben to CO, Giant Slip N Slide, Swimming at Gunnerson's, Extended Webster Gathering, Back to School, Dinner with Becca.

Wednesday I watered the lawn by hand for a bit because our sprinklers weren't working properly.  McKenna went and played at the Roth's.  I did more uniform laundry and had to clean up two pee accidents (Bethany and Alice).  Camille and McKenna then played over here for a bit and I did more uniform prep for Anna.  

Earlier that morning, Dan and Ben (along with the Jakes and their boys) left for a fun and quick trip to Colorado for a Rockies game!  

Their Uber ride was in a Tesla with the cool doors that open UP!

They took the boys to the a children's museum.  

They had a BLAST!  

Wednesday evening, poor Alice tummy was still learning how to digest big girl food, so I was supporting her as she was trying to poop.  

Then she enjoyed a tummy tickle.

Wednesday night, the girls and I went early to Dave and Laurie's ward youth activity-- a giant slip n slide!  I was so proud of all the girls being so brave and trying it!  

"I did it all myself!"

That night Anna slept in Bethany and McKenna's room for a sleepover.  

Thursday Dan and Ben got home around 10, then Dan headed to work.  

What Alice will look like with long hair.  :) 

Ben played at the Alexander's and we attended back to school night that evening.  

Friday we went swimming at the Gunnerson's with Henry and Desi Alexander.  (Brittana had to have emergency surgery on her arm for compartment syndrome.)  

They had me take some fun slow-mo videos.  

That evening I went to dinner with Mickelle and Becca in SLC.  

It was so great to catch up with her!  When I got home, there was a lovely handmade blanket for Alice from Amanda Koldewyn!  She's so kind, thoughtful and talented!  

Saturday we watched Charlie Stewart and had a deer walk around in our backyard.  We worked on cleaning and organizing.  Dan took the older three kids to the Bountiful arts festival and grocery shopping.  

 

After lunch we headed up to Mantua for the extended family Webster gathering.  

Some more videos of kids going down the slide.  

We showered the kids up there then they all fell asleep on the drive home.  

Sunday I helped sing "A Child's Prayer" in singing practice for the Primary Program and I introduced that the youth would be singing "Hope of Israel" in Sacrament meeting at the end of Sept.  

We had a relaxing afternoon and Jonathan came to hang out and played Scrabble. McKenna came with me once again to stake choir. 

Monday we met Anna's kindergarten carpool friends at Bountiful Park (Jamie Atkin-Emi and Janene Wirthlin-Annie).  Then we headed to Wal-Mart for some final back to school shopping.  Alice still needed help and love when trying to poop.  And she thankfully loved the prunes I gave her to help.  

We got Keva Juice and Great Harvest bread for lunch.  

We chilled in the afternoon and started making paracord ankle bracelets for all the kids.  I also worked on organizing the girls' hair stuff.

That night after nursing Alice (and her not really pooping well for days) she vomited on me, a lot!  I called the on-call doctor to make sure we didn't need to worry and he said we only need to worry in her belly feels hard and if the vomit is green colored.  Thankfully she didn't have either of those symptoms.  

Tuesday we ran errands to get some medicine for Alice as well as to the uniform store.  McKenna worked hard to finish her summer reading packet.  That evening we had our special back to school dinner.  We talked about a new theme for the year and Dan gave everyone special father's priesthood blessings.