Camping in the Uintahs

We got to spend Josh's birthday this past weekend camping in the Uintahs with Jake's family. We had a great time with them and can't wait to do it again next year. The kids loved playing in the dirt with their cousins and sleeping in a tent. Uncle Jake took Ben and his two cousins fishing. It was the first time Ben had ever done it. I had to warn him that he might not catch a fish but Ben was determined he was going to get one. After casting his line a few times, he was getting a little frustrated. Jake said he would try for him and if he felt something tug, he would let Ben reel it in. After a couple minutes, the line was tugging and Ben reeled in a small trout. He was so excited (we all were!) Jake was going to let the fish go but it swallowed the hook and he couldn't get it out. He cut the line and then showed the boys how to clean it (they were really interested in that part.) They thought it was cool how the fish still wiggled around, even after all it's insides were taken out... yuck. It was quite the learning experience for them. Josh did great, besides throwing up on his cousin, Isabelle. I was rocking them both in a hammock and must have made him a little motion sick. I felt so bad for poor Isabelle. He didn't get much on himself, but a lot on her. Emma loved throwing rocks off the hill with Hannah and Michael. Of course they all loved roasting marshmellows and making smores. We left after lunch on Saturday and made our way back to Salt Lake, just in time to miss the storm that was coming in.

Happy 1st Birthday, Joshua Dean!

It's hard to believe our little baby is already a year old. To be honest, when Jake and I found out I was pregnant with #3 I was worried about it... the pregnancy, the c-section, the recovery, the newborn stage, etc. You never know if your new little bundle will be a colicky kid, who doesn't want to be put down, doesn't sleep at all, and basically turns your world upside down for a couple months. Luckily, Josh was my angel baby (still is.) He adds so much to our little family and we are all in love with him. He is starting to show his cute personality and we are realizing we have quite the comedian on our hands. He loves to make us laugh. If he does something that gets even a slight snicker from us, he will do it again and watch to see if we laugh. Josh adores Truman and will terrorize him to no end... of course out of love. Happy Birthday, Josh. We love you!

Growing Up

My kids are growing up. As I watch Ben begin to read, Emma practice her dance steps, and Josh start to walk, I realize time is speeding by. My babies are getting older and I just hope when they look back at their childhood, they remember being surrounded by love. Jake and I try our best but most of the time we feel inadequate (like I'm sure all parents feel, at least at some point in their lives.) I'm glad my kids still shower me with kisses and hugs, require me to sing "Popcorn Popping" to them before they go to bed, and tell me I'm "the best mom ever." I'm sure this will not last so Jake and I better savor these challenging and wonderful times.

Here are the kids' birth pictures taken in the hospital. (We were told Ben looks like a bruiser in his picture. The poor guy was stuck in my pelvis for 12 hours, and then came out like Hercules, over 10 lbs.) It's hard to believe my skinny little guy used to be so huge.




Here are their 1-year pictures. With Josh turning 1 on Saturday, I've been thinking about this past year and looking at old pictures. It was fun to compare the three kids' pictures. They are definitely siblings, but all still have their own unique look. Jake and I make adorable children, what can we say?! :)

We have a WALKER!

Today Josh took his first steps and we were all excited for him. He seemed to love watching us cheer him on, and then tease us as he decided whether or not he would put on a show for the family. I managed to record him walking on the camcorder, the video setting with my camera, and then took a few cute still shots, too. (Check out the video of him taking his first steps!) I told Jake I need to make sure I document this well, just like I did with the other two kids. I don't want Josh looking at his baby pictures and wondering why he has half the amount as the others. Hopefully he will never feel like he was the "forgotten 3rd child."



We had our friends, the Robinson's, over today for dinner. It was great to see them and reminisce about college days. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard! Thanks for the fun night, Cheri and Ryan. Jake is already talking about how excited he is to go 4 wheeling with you next year... ;) Cheri asked me how many teeth Josh has and I said 4, then I started feeling around in his mouth and realized his 5th tooth already came through and his 6th will break through very soon. I felt bad that I had not noticed that. I guess that's what happens when you have more kids. Again, I hope he never feels shafted (maybe after reading this post in a couple years, he might!)

Before the Robinson's got here, we had fun taking random pictures of each other. The kids were being silly and we were just having a good time together. I think the kids had daddy withdrawals since he just got back from a business trip in Nevada last night. They acted like they hadn't seen him for weeks (he was only gone two days!)





Emma took this picture. She was really excited to use the camera. It's pretty big for her tiny hands so I was impressed she could even hold it up and push the button. Good picture for a 3 year old!
Ben took this one. He kept telling me how hard it was to center the picture. He was concentrating so hard. It was really cute.


As for my workouts, I'm still going strong. I met with my trainer on Monday and he really worked me. It was great. I went home and felt good and then when I woke up I could barely move. It took 3 days for me to walk down the stairs normally! :) I guess that's a good sign though, shows I'm working hard and using muscles I don't normally use. I went to the gym again this morning. I did the weight training Kenton showed me on Monday and then I ran on the treadmill for 30 mins. My foot seemed to be feeling better so I thought I would give it a shot. Well, afterward my foot started hurting again in the exact same spot. It's frustrating! I really want to push myself hard and start running longer but with this weird pain I can't do that. Someone on this LDS website I post on occasionally sent me this website about stress fractures. It sounded exactly like what I was feeling except it doesn't hurt when I'm relaxing or sleeping, only when I walk on it. I found out the bone I hurt is the 4th metatarsal of my right foot (the top of the bone leading down to my 4th toe.) I think I might get it looked at if it doesn't heal soon. Hopefully it won't get to that point though.

Cousins & Curtains

Today was a Call family reunion/dinner. It was pretty casual, just a bunch of people talking and eating, kids running around all over the place. My cousins, two aunts, and one uncle came up from California for it and we had fun with them. Ben and Emma love playing with their 2nd cousins, Micaela, Alina, & Christian. These kids would be in heaven if they could play together every day.




























In other news, Josh is getting more and more daring with his standing/walking skills... he stood by himself for about 20 seconds today. He also took a step a few days ago but when he realized what he did, he dropped to the floor so he could start crawling again. He's a lot more apprehensive about walking than my other two kids were. He's definitely my sensitive and cautious little boy. I love him so much. His laugh is infectious and he's just so fun to be around!














I've been scouring the internet for curtains for our living room. You would have thought I was making a life or death decision here. I finally decided to go with some I saw in the JC Penny catalog. The problem though was that they didn't have this style or color in the store so I just crossed my fingers that they matched my couches and bought them. I still haven't ironed them yet, but put them up so you could see what they look like. What do you think? Here is a "before" picture and an "after" picture.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I apologize for not keeping up with all our news. It has been pretty busy around here. The latest news: Ben got his cast off today!! He didn't seem nervous at all, even when the nurse was coming at him with a mini-saw. His arm is still pretty weak and will take awhile to have full mobility. The x-rays taken today, though, showed his arm has healed nicely. He wanted to play catch with Jake tonight and we had to explain to him that even though the cast is gone, he still needs to be careful for a couple weeks and be gentle with his arm. When I put him to bed tonight he lifted his arm in the air and showed me it was a little shaky and then said "Mom, I think my arm wants it's protective shield (the cast) on again." Funny kid!

Last week was a nightmare. Josh had the flu from Saturday night until Wednesday. Emma threw up a couple times Monday. Ben got a cold (and is just getting over it.) Jake was sick on Sunday, and I was sick Monday to Wednesday, and then was still in pain until yesterday (read my last post and you will know what I'm talking about!) I only managed to go workout twice during that time. I went to the gym last night and then today my ankle has been hurting. I must have stepped weird and now I can't stand straight on it or it hurts. What is the deal??!! I just want to go workout, is that too much to ask?! I guess so. I'm scheduled to go in tomorrow at 9am and if my ankle isn't feeling better, I'm just going to do upper body stuff and hope my ankle gets better fast. In more positive news, I've lost 3 lbs. in two weeks. I hope it keeps melting off! I've been really good about eating my recommended 1500 calories (I usually come in well under that, around 1200.) I need to focus on eating more protein though. I like carbs too much and eat more than I should. At least I'm on the right track though.

Ben's last t-ball game was Monday. He was sad for it to end but then later informed me that he can play coach-pitch and "real" baseball now. I'm so glad he has found a sport he loves to play. I want to get him into swim lessons again too. He loved doing it last summer and I think he would learn a lot more, now that he's a year older. He loves the water and seems to have no fear when he's in a pool.




























We spent the 4th of July at the Bee's Game with my uncle Kristen, and cousins Shilo, Shelby, and Aubrey. We had a good time (even though the Bee's lost.) The fireworks at the end of the game were the highlight of the night.






















Two weeks ago I took the kids to Gateway and they ran through the fountains for almost an hour. Ben had a blast and Emma was ready to go after 30 minutes. Josh watched and wanted to get in on the fun, but I wasn't up for chasing a baby around the fountains so he stayed in the stroller the whole time. (Also, he needed to wear a swim diaper and I didn't have one with me.)































Jake and I made some good friends the first year we were married and have stayed in touch with them for 7 years now. We all have kids the same age and try to have playgroups once a month. This last playgroup was at Nancy's new beautiful house in Spanish Fork. Emma and Nancy's daughters (Anna and Abbie) made up a dance to a Hannah Montana song and performed for us. I wish I would have taped it. They are so cute and of course, Emma loves to dress-up in all the Kirk's cute leotards (and they have plenty with 3 girls in the house!) Emma is in heaven over there. Ben was also in heaven, playing the Wii with his friend, Justin. It was hard to take him away from it. Justin is Lynda Day's oldest and he's 15 months older than Ben. The first time we hung out with them after we moved back to Utah last year, Justin brought over his Nintendo DS. Now when Ben refers to Justin, he says "You know Justin, my Nintendo DS friend." It's nice to know he labels his friends based on what toys they own. :)