July- Week 1- Amelia, 4th of July, Bee's Game

Wednesday, July 1, one of my dear friends and BYU roommates, Katie, happened to be in town.  She was nice enough to take time out of her busy schedule and swing by for an hour visit or so.  Thanks Spencer family!  It was so fun to meet their new baby Hugh as well!  (Ben was too grouchy to be pictured.)

That evening, we had a new niece born!  Amelia Webster!  Adam and Pidi already make such fine parents!!  

Being at the hospital got me so giddy and excited for our little one.  It was also nice to have a little shelf for baby Amelia to rest on.  :)

Thursday was our last day of swim lessons.  Both kids were recommended to repeat the same level they were in, but I am so proud of the progress they made!  

I also had a doctor's appt in the afternoon.  It was my second check for dilation and I was still only a .5cm and maybe 50%.  Sloooooow progress.  

That evening I took McKenna on another date to see a play.  This time, it was to see a friend of ours from the ward/neighborhood who was in CenterPoint Theater's The King and I.  Once again, a very well done play and our friend Ayla was so great as one of the King's daughters.  

That night, Dan camped out in the yard with the two older kids.  In spite of 100+ degree temps during the day, he said McKenna actually got a little cold that night.  He's pretty sure a deer was walking around them in the middle of the night.  Let's hope it was just a deer.  

Friday, Dan had the day off in observance of the 4th of July.  We ate breakfast and then took Ben over to Grandma Sibber's house for the (little) grandson activity day.  (She does a sleep over with the older grandsons.  These guys are still just not quite ready for that.)  Ben had a blast.  She had every thing cowboy/western themed.  

They watched a movie, did arts and crafts, built with Lincoln Logs, and had a yummy lunch.  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for making these boys feel so special!! 

While Ben was gone, we took the girls over to the hospital to meet baby Amelia!  Anna loved it so much she almost didn't give me another turn.  

We went swimming at a neighbor's house in the afternoon, then everyone took naps.  In the evening, we had dinner at Cafe Rio with my parents.  Then we headed up to Dan's parent's cul de sac to do fireworks, eat popsicles, visit with neighbors, and then watched the Eaglewood golf course fireworks. 

Saturday, the 4th of July, we spent the morning doing things around the house and grocery shopping.  Then we headed to Midway for the Nelson Family Party/reunion.  

Fun rides on the surrey.    

The kids decorated their bikes for the bike parade and did much better riding in it this year than ever before! 

There were also games like a sponge relay, basketball shooting, hula hooping, and water balloon volleyball.  I sat on a blanket in the shade most of the time trying to stay cool and feeding Anna snacks to keep her happy.


We had a delicious dinner then headed home for bath and bed time at a semi-regular hour.  (Too many late nights in a row.)

Sunday, 38 Weeks! 

Sunday afternoon, McKenna and I went with my parents to visit my Grandpa Thompson.  His health continued to decline rapidly and we weren't sure how much longer he would be with us.  He wasn't responsive at all and just laid there.  We held his hand a little and gave him hugs and kisses.  I was so thankful I had visited with him a few weeks before!  He ended up passing away peacefully the next morning.  More on the funeral later.  

Monday, we finally had a landscaping company come out to grade the weed bed we're turing into grass.  

McKenna also had her sewing class and finished her bandana quilt.  She also did a little hand-sewing project seen in the picture.  

In the evening, we went to the Bee's game!  

Walking into the game, I loved Anna holding onto Dan's cheeks.  

We got there early enough the kids got to ride the train.  

Got some yummy hot dogs and the weather was amazing!  

We made it all the way through the 7th inning, then called it a night.  I had to post both of these pictures to show Anna's "monkey see, monkey do" to Ben sticking his tongue out.  

Tuesday, my sister Emily flew in from Alabama for the Funeral.  

Anna was super snuggly after waking up from her nap.  I think she's going to miss this nice shelf to rest on.  

June- Week 4- Anna and Dan's BD

Monday, we ran errands, Anna got a hair trim and they did a fancy braid afterward (too bad half of it fell out on the car ride home), 

I did some yard work, Ben and McKenna started two weeks of swim lessons, McKenna had sewing, and in the evening we went to the Food Truck League in Sugarhouse for some yummy Hokulia!  

Tuesday, the Summer movie was Mr. Peabody and Sherman and in the evening we worked on organizing the kids' rooms a little more.  

Wednesday, Dan was home all day and got to go with us to the 7 Canyons splash pad at Liberty Park. 

Thursday, I had my first check for dilation with my doctor and I was dilated to a...ZERO!  Lovely.  That evening, Dan's parents took us out for Dan's BD date. We saw Jurassic World in IMAX 3D, ate dinner at 5 Guys, and then walked around Lowe's.  Happy Birthday Love!!

Friday was Miss Anna's 2nd BD!!  We decorated the night before.  She loved all the balloons!  We opened presents first thing.  She got a Minnie Mouse Doll and Minnie plate.  At two years old, she is  a pretty good talker, loves babies, loves "Mimi" (Mini) Mouse, loves playing in water, has quite the sweet tooth, is doing well in her big girl bed, and adores being included to play with her older siblings.
I don't have her 2 year stats yet, but here are a few things she's done/accomplished in the last 6 months:

• January- did a cute whisper lip sync when we would sing songs, started saying "byyyyyy-per" (diaper), liked singing songs more and more, said "bow bow" (hair bow), started brushing hair out of her face.
• February- Loved to carry around and read books all day, said "yellow" and "Beh" (Ben), started her loooove for baby dolls. Other new words were tissue, Kix, slow, blue, no, yes, shoes.
• March- Went to her first Utah Gymnastics meet, got two new canine teeth on her right side, started to string together sentences like "No. Daddy do."
• April- Had a yucky stomach virus for 5 days, loved her independence more at the park, loves sunglasses, often yelled out in her sleep, called bruises "purple owies," Recognized "A" for Anna.
• May- Had a great interest in colors and can identify almost all of them, does a crooked mouth thing when she's sad or unsure, says "out" instead of "off," can recognize her own name and almost spell it.
• June- Started sleeping in a big girl bed, fell out once the first night, found sleeping sideways most of the time, loves to brush hair and wear headbands, loves to say who she wants to do something "Mommy do" or "Anna do" or "Nennie do."

That afternoon McKenna and I got to go on a date (with Sarah Jane, Whitney, Grandma and Grandpa) to see Hale Center Theater's Little Mermaid.  It was so well done!  

Afterwards, we met Dan and the two little ones at the Food Truck League in Bountiful.  The kids ate waffles, Dan had a Philly Cheese Steak, and McKenna and I shared a rice bowl.  We had to get a Braza Bowl (Acai!) for dessert as well.  

Saturday we did a little yard work, the kids rode bikes, then we cleaned up a little before my parents flew in from CHILE!  

That evening we celebrated Anna's BD a little more with treats and singing.  She played shy a little, but in the end loved the attention and trying to blow out her candle.  

Sunday we celebrated June Birthdays with just the Webster Family.  

Monday the kids continued with their second week of swim lessons.  

After swim lessons, we headed up to Mantua just for the evening to be with the extended Webster family to say goodbye to one of Dan's Aunt and Uncle who will be leaving to serve a mission as ranch hands in Washington State.  We had a blast with MORE swimming as usual.  

Just some morning exercises on PBS Kids.  

Tuesday was Dan's 33rd BD!  We went to our Summer movie (Penguins of Madagascar).  Dan came home from work a little early and we gave him his presents.  Then we headed up to the Blaser's house for another pool party!  These are some of Dan's best friends from high school and Brett's wife happens to share a BD with Dan.