We must be doing something right after all...

So the other night we were pulling into the driveway after Caleb's baseball game. Caleb looked quite mischievous when he told Mat and I we should go lay on the hammock and relax while Easton and he "played". Now, if this had been Easton concocting something we would have stayed close by but after all it was Caleb, and he did give us a free pass to relax undisturbed. We opted for going inside however. It was 50 degrees and very windy. After a while we figured we better go assess the damages. When we came out we were pleasantly surprised to see Caleb washing Mat's truck! He looked like he was freezing! He smiled and said it wasn't cold. We praised him for being such a sweet kid and that's when Easton (who was completely dry) chimed in that he helped too. My day before had certainly been a rough one so this was such a nice way to start the weekend off. Thank you Caleb for being such a great kid and example to others. We love you!

Way to go Bailey!

Bailey had her 2nd day of cheer tryouts today. I wasn't able to watch but she was in the same group as her cousin so I got to see the recorded tryout. I was so happy! She makes things look far too easy. Mat and I have been super stressed about these tryouts! She has worked very hard and we were worried she would be placed on a team that wouldn't push her. She was so calm about the whole thing. The teams were posted at 8:00 tonight and there were many anxious girls waiting at the window. When they finally posted the teams I couldn't even see Bailey. Finally the crowds cleared a little and Bailey emerged. The first thing she said was "Mom, they spelled my name wrong." I about burst! "Bailey, what team are you on!" She smiled "Senior level 2." Now, it's taken me a bit to understand the different teams. Last year Raglan had a Youth level 1, Juniors level 2, and Seniors level 3. The Senior part means that she'll be competing with and against girls under 16. The level 2 indicates the level of difficulty for the stunts. We are so very proud of her accomplishments over the past year that she can compete at this level. Way to go Bailey! You never cease to amaze me!

Happy Magic Birthday Easton!!!

Tomorrow is Easton's magic birthday. He turns 6 on the 6th! I can't believe he is 6 already. Every year on his birthday I get quite nostalgic. It was conference weekend (obviously since his birthday is on such a great day) and the ultrasound said he would be here on the 5th. Well, on April 5th we were in labor! I was having consistent, strong contractions, and apparently the rest of St. George was also. When we arrived to the nurses' station they were not all that friendly. I was told to put a gown on and they said I was at a 4 plus. Fabulous right? Wrong. They didn't have a room available to monitor me and they wouldn't admit me until they were able to do so. I was told to go wait...in my hospital gown...in the waiting room! Ugh! I was pretty okay because I knew as strong as my contractions were it wouldn't be long and thus I could escape to much embarrassment. 8 hours later after they had monitored me in some supply room I was sent home at a 4 1/2. No joke! I was devastated. They put my doctor on the phone to explain the situation to me, what that was going to help I don't know. As soon as I left the contractions stopped and I arrived back home extremely frustrated. The next morning, Mat's sister's came to pick up Bailey and Caleb because my contractions started again. After they left with the kids I was curling my hair and was almost ready to go. Then...I threw up! Not just a little...a lot! Of course then the contractions slowed. By this point I deemed that the baby boy inside me was dang stubborn (call it mother's intuition). I told Mat after my 2nd shower that I was going to lay down. As soon as I relaxed the phone rang. My hero, Dr. Staheli called informing us that he was leaving out of town for the day and didn't want me to go into labor without him there and He wondered if I could meet him at his clinic to be checked before he left. This was around 9:30 on conference Sunday. The Dr's sweet wife waited in the stairwell and I was all too happy to say that I was at a 5 and the hospital would admit me if I went directly there. By the time we drove the 3 blocks and were admitted I was at a 7 1/2. Easton was born 1 hour later. I guess he had finally made up his mind! We love Easton so much and feel very blessed to have his spunk in our house. He is one of the most difficult kids ever but also one of the sweetest. Just today Mat went into the backyard looking for him and there he was kneeling in prayer. Mat said he looked a little sheepish and Mat asked what he had been praying for and Easton just said he was thanking Heavenly Father for our nice house and our fun backyard. Happy Birthday Easton, we love you!

This is a picture of Easton's birthday cake. We had a party for him on Friday. It isn't one of "Aunt Amber's" cakes, but he liked it and I had fun making it for him.

This is Easton with the "Chief" that came and told the kids stories. They were all mesmerized. It was too fun.
It was really crummy weather for the birthday party. The boys didn't get a chance to ride the "Indian horse" or do some of the other outside activities we had planned, but we did have a lapse in the rain long enough to get some photos by the tee pee.

April 1st

Today is one of my favorite days! That isn't even an April Fool's joke, I really love it. I thought I would post some of my favorite pranks for everyone. One that didn't quite work out for Mat and I was the time we made "dinner" for his family. It was at night and they still didn't catch on. We made these nasty pizzas with everything out of the cupboards we could think to use. The joke was on us however, they liked the pizzas! Well, Mat and I were frustrated! We went to all that work to make a not so lovely meal and it backfired. We decided we couldn't end our night there. We went to the store and bought Hershey Kisses and put the name of the boy my little sis' was in love with in one of them. We then scattered them up the walkway to my house with a note that said "Now that I've kissed the ground you walk on, will you go to (whatever dance was coming up) with me". She was sooooo excited. She started doing cartwheels and one of her friends mentioned she already had a date and she said she didn't care! It was hilarious. So much so that when she finally came inside and saw Mat and I busted out laughing the jig was up!
My all time favorite prank though was when I was expecting Bailey. Mat had been out of town and I was certain that he had no clue what day it was. Bailey wasn't due until July but his sister was due anyday. He had been working late the night before, got up and did some more work and got home around noon. I was working at the flower shop and when he called I told him Kristi was in labor, no one could find Shane, everyone else was in the middle of something and Kristi was really upset. I told him I had made a bouquet of flowers and he needed to come get them and visit her to calm her down. Can you say "hook, line, and sinker?" He didn't even stop to take a shower or eat. he came right over and got the flowers with a lot of balloons for effect and went down to the hospital. Now I didn't wan't him walking into someone's room and disturbing them so I called down to the nurses station. They were sort of onry until they heard my plan. I told them to look for a guy with pink flowers going into room 364 and stop him. They laughed and said that room didn't exist. Perfect! He of course couldn't find the room and went to the nurses station and they said "you must be Mat...April Fool's!" The best part was that my sister actually was at the hospital getting an ultrasound and she asked Mat if he knew what day it was. I felt really bad after because he had to go right back to work and never got a shower or lunch but it was worth it!