Westward Ho!

About a month ago our family got the opportunity to go back West to visit family (and Bill went to Portland for a conference for work).  We spent a week each in Idaho and Utah and had a fabulous time.  Some of the highlights - in my opinion - included:

-Celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary in the same city we were married in.  It was so wonderful to do sealings at the Idaho Falls temple and then have lunch at Johnny Carino's, where we had our wedding luncheon. 
-Seeing TONS of family members, most of whom had not met yet. 
-Going to Yellowstone National Park for a day, which is one of the places we went on our honeymoon.
-Spending quality time with my younger sister watching movies, taking the kids on excursions, and eating more than I should have.
-Laughing and reminiscing with old friends.
-Laughing with Bill as we searched for a specific store in Idaho that sells square ice cream that we were determined to try.
-Unexpectedly making friends with fellow tourists at Old Faithful while Kayla throws a tantrum and attempts to escape.
-Spending an hour alone driving in the car with Bill after picking him up from his conference.

We did tons of other fun things that would take me forever to list.  Needless to say it was a wonderful vacation, despite the long drive and occasionally cranky children (and parents sometimes).  A big thank you to Bill's parents and my mom and sister for letting us stay with them, to grandparents and great-grandparents for babysitting our children numerous times, and all the other wonderful people who made our trip memorable.  We hope to be back soon!

Now for the picture overload :)

Will and Kayla at the beginning of our 2 day car ride

Kids on the observation deck of a fossil museum.  Rest stops were frequent on this trip.

Bill was very happy to be home

Square ice cream.  So good!

Yellowstone pictures

Where Mommy and Sarah spent the majority of the trip.

FINALLY learning to ride a two-wheeler.  He picked it up super fast.

Kayla and Aunt Jill

The lighting is horrible on this, but if you can see on his tie, Bill earned the recent Thomas S. Monson scouting award while we were visiting his parents.

July 10, 2013 - Happy Anniversary Honey!

Grandma Melodie reading a bedtime story

Hanging out at Grandma Melodie's house

Sisters

Will, Kayla and Ella enjoying at picnic at Grandma Phyllis's house

Hogle Zoo pictures

 Hanging out at the splash pad with Auntie Erika

 

Five Months

*We are on vacation in Utah right now, hence the reason this post has no pictures and why it's almost a week late.  We're having too much fun!  Typical vacation post to follow soon.

Sarah at 5 months:
Her new trick: rolling over from her back to her stomach (and vice versa (sp?), although not as much)
Laughs hysterically when you tickle her legs and stomach (video down below.  Ignore my ugly laughing and the stuff at the end)
Is so close to being able to sit up on her own
Smiles widely and sweetly when I walk through the door after being gone, even if it's just for a couple of minutes. Makes my day every time.
Took her first road trip.  She's now been in Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah.  Has done great so far beyond a couple of incidents.
Her new nickname is "Little Piglet".  I don't know if it's a growth spurt or what, but it seems like she's eating twice as much these days.  Yet she's still pretty scrawny.  Guess she inherited the Evans metabolism like Will did.

4 months

Sarah at 4 months:
Out of all our children she is the only thumb sucker
Likes the song "Hush Little Baby", especially when Will sings it
Has started laughing a little
Loves being given attention and cries when people ignore her for too long
The kids swear that she is actually saying certain words.  Whether she is or not, the sounds she makes are adorable.
Chews on her bottom lip and smacks her lips together
Can kind of hold a bottle by herself
Is very intrigued by her hands and sits staring at them for a long time
Has earned the nickname "Snugglebug" for obvious reasons

Slimey Spitter

Will and his friend from school wrote a story called "Our Monster Named Slimey Spitter" and I thought it was so clever that I decided to share it (with spelling corrections).

Slimey Spitter has spikes that spit slime.  His tail is 900 kilograms.  His eyes store half his blood.  His belly button has lint.  He is 20 meters tall.  He has spooky red blood.  His horns are poisonous.  If he gets zapped by lightning his brain disappears.  If he cries his eyes turn blue.  His favorite food is snake and worm soup.  He's fire proof.  He's the best behaved student in all monster elementary school.  He rides ghoul bus 110.  His last name is Grrrs.

I'm also very impressed with how much his handwriting has improved in the last few months.

Fisherman-in-training

This weekend Bill took Will to the Fathers and Sons camp-out.  They had fun singing songs around the campfire, playing sports, and spending time with friends.  But the highlight of the weekend for Will was definitely going fishing for the first time.  There was a dad there who had brought some fishing poles, and he invited Will to come along with him and his kids.  And according to Bill, Will is somewhat of a natural.  He caught at least a half dozen fish, two of which he got to bring home.  We are not big fish eaters around here, but we're glad Will had so much fun.

  

A blessing

Sarah Lynn Evans was blessed by her dad on May 5, 2013.  Bill's parents made a last minute decision to come for the blessing, and we were so happy to have them there, as well as Bobby and Susan and their family.  I don't know if writing down part of the blessing is allowed, but I did it anyway so I would remember it years from now.  Sarah was told that she would be a peacemaker in our family.  She was told that she would be found serving those around her, especially her Heavenly Father.  She was told that she will have faith in the Lord and will know that He loves her.  And she was told that one day she will enter the temple and make sacred covenants.  It was a beautiful blessing, and I am so grateful to have a husband who honors his priesthood and can do this wonderful thing for our children.  After church we gathered for lunch at our house, and of course had to have a quick photo shoot.

Meeting Grandpa Evans for the first time (in person, at least)

The proud grandparents

Adorable sisters

The girls

Cousins (minus one)

   

3 months

Sarah at 3 months

So much more aware and able to focus with her eyes and look at specific things and people
LOVES to smile at anyone who will smile and talk to her
Such a calm, easy going baby, but when she needs something she definitely lets you know
Makes the cutest noises when she's happy

Pictures from blessing day coming

Playing catch-up

In all the craziness of life the last couple of months, I realized that I neglected to post about a couple things. 

KAYLA'S BIRTHDAY

Kayla turned 4 at the beginning of March.  With a baby less than a month old I wasn't in the mood to put together a big, elaborate party.  Luckily Kayla was very accommodating and easy to please, so we had her party at McDonald's.  

 Parents enjoying small talk while kids played

 Kayla opening her gifts.  The little girl next to her is one of her best friends from both church and preschool.

 

Enjoying a birthday ice cream cone.

The only thing I didn't like about having a party there is the fact that they wouldn't let us bring in our own cake.  They said they would provide one of their own for us, but we decided to spring for ice cream cones instead, and the kids didn't seem to mind.  After the party was done we went home and enjoyed the cake with just our family.

EASTER

Again our celebration this year was pretty simple.  Bill was awesome and took over most of the planning and executing of activities.  On Saturday Will and Kayla went outside for a quick Easter egg hunt in our "backyard" (a large square of grass between our building and another building).  The weather has been unusually cold the last month or so, so they were searching for eggs in snow that hadn't completely melted yet.

 Apparently Sarah was not amused by the festivities.  

Easter morning dawned bright and early with church at 9:00, but not before we took the time to take some pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes.

And after church we invited Bobby and Susan and their family over for dinner.  We made some cute cupcakes for dessert and Kayla wanted to help decorate (and eat).

And just because I love showing off how adorable my kids are, here are a couple of pictures of Sarah

2 months

Sarah at 2 months:


Sucks on her hand voraciously when she gets hungry
Sleeps really well at night already
Has started to smile a lot, especially when you smile at her
Has gained over 2 pounds since birth
Can hold her head up and look around
Loves to have Will hold her, which helps when Mommy needs to do other things