Sweet Cedar Sunday

 Our summer days have been so fun. The boys do a great job with their checklists and it drives all the need-to-happen things without me feeling like I'm nagging. I am really loving lifting weights again each day. It wasn't fun waiting to be able to do that again and I'm hoping to make some noticeable strength improvements and keep up with these boys!

On Friday we packed up and headed west, this time with Michael, who so often doesn't get to come on our road trips with us. We felt brave enough to take the 70 (a 10-hour drive to my parents) since we were together, where I usually take the 80 if I'm solo (a 7-hour drive to Ali's). 

Asher was pretty good but I did go back and nurse him while he was in his carseat during every single stretch so we could fit some longer legs of driving in. Camden wants to talk about every single truck, car, plane, tractor, cow, deer, sign, "blue jay" (there's never really a blue jay?) that he sees. It's super cute for the first 10 minutes of the day haha, and quickly turns exhausting, but then randomly cute again when he gets super excited. Like when he saw a transporter and it just blew his mind. "There's a truck! There's a blue car! There's a big truck! WHY DOES THAT TRUCK HAVE SO MANY CARS OH MY GOSH!" It's fun to get reminders from kids about how they see the world. Cutie.

We made it to Cedar on Friday in time to take the older boys to see the fireworks show at the Utah Summer Games opening ceremonies. I loved going to that growing up. My dad would typically be involved with his radio station, my cousins were usually in town playing soccer games, my friends loved seeing each other during the summer there. It was just always a fun summer night and it was fun to see the boys have fun there with their Miner cousins. 

Saturday we played at the school, played with the water in the ditch -- I remember sending so many sticks and leaves under my driveway and running from curb to curb to catch them and my boys loved it too -- eating at Brody's, playing at the church while Kindal and I practiced our musical number, meeting Carter and Kindal for ice cream that night with Asher and Rosie, and enjoying time with my parents. Kindal stayed over until after midnight that night plotting future illustrations for our next book -- it's so fun to plan together.

Sunday we made it to 9am church with my parents for possibly my last Sunday in the church I grew up in. They are tearing it down at the end of this year due to earthquake safety reasons, and not rebuilding. Kindal and I played a piano-violin duet of Be Still My Soul and we both loved playing together. It's been years!

Michael started to feel sick Sunday, which was such a bummer. We'd had so much sickness the couple months leading up to this trip that I had just really, really hoped we could sail through family time with good health and have as much fun together as possible. But I guess it's also a blessing to get sick when you have the time to rest. 

Please note the water balloon in the pocket.
You just never know when you might need one.

Michael took Camden to pick up Kolaches and bring them to a dental office.
We had a little taste test, blueberry won.

That's a four-boys-two-week van tetris game.

Not much of the trip looked like this, 
but some did. Some did.
The boys in the back listened to the Purple Rocket podcast for the entire drive.

Looking too big in that restaurant high chair.

Cedar in time for fireworks!

I used to call my friend Tiffany and say, "There's water in the ditch! Come play!"
It was such a thrilling thing back then, and I just loved that my boys found it thrilling too :)

Sending sticks and leaves endless times.

Lunch at Brody's with all my family is a little taste of what heaven will be like.
Cheese enchiladas, street tacos, my favorite people.
Chips and salsa.
Heaven.

Always needing an Asher hug before they go to sleep.

Camden was so funny at church.
He was so concerned about Grandpa up on the stand. I guess he rarely sees the serious side of Grandpa.
"How'd Grandpa get up there? Why is he mad?? Is he ok? What's he doing!!!"

Asher fell asleep on Kindal during church, he already loves her as much as I do.

Kindal and Rosie came over for chocolate malts after church.

This church building will always have my heart.

Birthday Benny + Conference

Michael:

was busy this week! He didn't see the boys much from Monday night to Friday night, which was especially a bummer since it was Bennett's birthday this week. We blew up balloons the night before and put them all over the floor in the boys' room while they were asleep. I knew it would be so fun to hear them wake up to them and it totally was.

"Whoa!"

"Bennett, they're for your birthday!"

"Yeah, birthday!"

"I gotta go see the kitchen!"

(Westin runs out of the room, looks at the presents on the table and decorations, says "Wow!", then runs back to their bedroom and doesn't even tell Bennett about it haha)

"It's your birthday, Bennett!!"

Cute boys. Michael didn't make it home for candles and presents on Bennett's actual birthday, or the next day, so we opened presents throughout the day on Saturday and did candles on what was left of his cake that night. He was totally afraid of them and wouldn't blow them out, haha. Michael now has a full week off so he was happy to come home Friday and crash, relax through conference weekend, and gear up to play this week!

Maddie:

had a busy week with appointments and playing. I am so grateful for good friends this week. I rarely have things I need to be at for myself, and when I do I almost always take my kids. But this week I had three different appointments that would've been really hard to have my kids at. I had a friend in my ward call me and say, "Do you need me this week? Is there a day I can watch your kids for you?" And in that tender mercy of a moment I was so relieved to not have to take my kids to my first physical therapy appointment. I called to cancel this appointment twice because of stressing about bringing my kids. And then I'd change my mind and keep it and I am so glad I did. On Bennett's birthday we went to the zoo with friends, which we haven't done in months, and he loved it. While there my other sweet friend asked what else we were doing that day and I laughed that we were celebrating at an orthodontist appointment. That was the only day they could get me in this week and it had to be this week. She told me to bring my kids over to her place during the appointment and I kept telling her I was fine bringing them with me. Then she said, "I really think it's going to be hard to have them there and I promise I'm really able to watch them during that time." I hate putting people out but gratefully took her up on it, and then the appointment ended up being twice as long as I thought, and way more involved -- it would have been a nightmare with Camden. I left that appointment feeling so grateful for good friends who helped me out this week in a way I usually try to avoid. I feel like they showed me such a wonderful example of service and being aware of someone's needs and just being willing to help out even when it's inconvenient for them. I need to be more like them! I sometimes feel like I am lost in my three little people's needs, four if you count Michael (but sometimes he gets the raw end of the deal around here for sure!), and I need to put service into my family's life more. 

Well, that was a long-winded way of saying that I am grateful for friends, and grateful to be taking care of myself in ways I've been putting off for too long! 

Westin:

loves school and has the cutest friends there. This little girl ran up to him after school this week and gave him a big hug, and then ran away. I said, "That was nice, what's her name?" And he said, "I don't know. But Ella is going to bring me a present tomorrow." I said, "Wait, why?" And he gave me this hilarious look and a shrug and I realized in that moment that I think he's a little ladies' man at school. A few minutes later he asked me why that girl gave him a hug and I said, "She must have wanted to give you a hug because she feels like you are her good friend," And he just pondered that for a moment and I just thought it was all so cute and funny.

We talked about conference this weekend and Westin was so, so tender about it. I'll put the full story underneath the picture of Christ that he drew, in the pictures below.

Bennett:

is three! He was so cute leading up to his birthday. He knew it was coming and he'd hold up three fingers when we talked about his birthday. I feel like two to three is a big change. They're such a bigger kid at three. And such a bigger stinker! Just my kids? 2.5 to 4.5 was so rough with Westin, and I feel like the storm is really winding down. And Bennett's storm is gearing up... :) Oh man, but he's so funny and sweet still too. Grandma and Grandpa Daetwyler gave the boys scooters for their birthday and they are having fun figuring those out! Bennett had pizza on his birthday and I'm always amazed at how much pizza these little boys can eat!

Camden:

slept 10 hours on Thursday night, so you know that's pretty much the mic drop of everything that happened around here lately. I've never had a two-month-old baby do that! I slept 7 of the hours and woke up before he did feeling amazing. Especially after I made sure he was still breathing. That first long stretch is always a little startling! He hasn't done it since but it sure was nice. His smiles are so cute and he has started giving them to his brothers and they love it. Especially Bennett. For some reason Camden smiles so big for us when we say "Goo!" in a slightly obnoxious voice, and Bennett has caught onto this extremely well. You can frequently find him saying "Goo! Goo! Goo!" with all his might over at the baby swing, and he loves showing you with his face if Camden is smiling or crying.

General Conference:

was so wonderful this weekend! We made apple cinnamon crepes, the boys built toothpick-gum drop sculptures for one session, fruit loop necklaces for another, quiet time/naps during Sunday afternoon, and pretty much just ate a lot of sugary treats during Sunday morning's session :) I loved the women's session (especially the new YWs theme) and loved going to dinner with a couple friends after. I realized while I was there that I'm going to have a nice relaxing night in when all my boys are priesthood ages and off with Michael. Still figuring out all the different ways being a mom of lots of boys is going to look!

Ready for the birthday boy! But then they sat like this for two days until we could open them with Daddy.
Bennett was totally fine with it and didn't seem to understand that it should have been any different :)

Westin wanted to get him a box of cereal with puppies on it for his birthday breakfast.
Done.

To the zoo with friends!

Bennett loves animals so even though a zoo trip is tight before Westin's school these days,
we still had a great time and I'm glad we went.
I even splurged for feeding the giraffes since it was Bennett's birthday,
then he was too scared to do it and Westin has always been too scared to do it.
So... I got to feed the giraffes on Bennett's birthday. Kids.

Westin really wanted to decorate Bennett's cake with raspberries, and raspberries are the only thing they forgot in our Walmart pick up order. He was super sad but I told him to use the blueberries instead and they went to town.

Residency. Unopened birthday presents and slices from the cake before blowing out the candles.
It is what it is! Michael and I both had the same thought that it was Bennett's LAST residency birthday,
and we were soooo happy about that :)

Thursday was so crazy, with our usual morning hustle, to the zoo, to school, to picking up Bennett's birthday pizzas,
to naps/feeding, to picking up Westin, to dropping them off at my friends place, to the orthodontist,
to picking them up, then to Walmart, then home for dinner and a late bedtime in hopes that daddy would get home for presents.
So the next day when Bennett did quiet time and Westin was at school, all I wanted to do was lay down by little Camden for an hour. And that's what I did. It was my favorite part of my week! It's sad how much I did this with Westin and how little I can do this with Camden, but I know that's just how it goes.
I loved this slow hour with him.

After we talked about conference coming up this weekend,
Westin told me he wanted to draw a picture of Jesus.
He drew this then showed me the dots on the hands and feet and told me those were the nail marks.
Then he asked me if Jesus wanted to die, and if it hurt.
I told him that it did hurt, but Jesus wanted to do that because He loves us.
Then Westin asked me if we could hang the picture up high to look at it during conference,
to remember that we're learning to be like Jesus when we watch.
Kids are so sweet.

He chose to hang it up by our clock and asked me to put it up high,
"So we can see it whenever we wonder what time it is,"
Which I love because he doesn't even tell time yet :)
I think I'll just leave it up there forever.

Palmer visited us for conference weekend.

They were extra cuddly Sunday morning.

The Dots they used for building were suddenly second breakfast.

Westin chose temple, prayer, and Jesus to be our three words to listen for.
Bennett would just frequently go up to the bowls and point ot each one and look at me, like,
"Am I good to grab one of these?"
I love that he didn't fully get what was going on, but knew the basic idea haha.

Spring is here!

Michael:

took me on a date Thursday night and it was fun to eat dinner with just him. A meal with just Michael feels like such a treat. It's just surprising how much we can talk to each other when there's no little voices around! But we love the little voices too. He had to install a new computer at our church this week so the boys and I went with him and ran around the gym the whole time. Westin loved it. We also cleaned the church on Friday and ran around some more, so on Sunday Westin was kind of confused about why we were at Church again and why we weren't running all around. Toddlers have so much to sort out, it sounds hard.

Maddie:

loved going on a date on Thursday -- we've already been on more dates this rotation (which is four weeks long) than last rotation (which was four months long...). Whoops! It's so hard to make those happen when Michael's on service but we need to be better at it. I took the boys to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday while Michael was sleeping after a night shift. Normally those things are great to get us out of the house, and it was, but this one in particular kind of bummed me out to be there without Michael. Those things are just so much better with dad around. I'm having fun getting to know my piano students more and getting the boys outside more as the weather warms up. Fresno spring is gorgeous!

Westin:

was in heaven at Saturday's Easter egg hunt. He got to jump in a dragon bounce house, go inside a garbage truck, touch a huge tortoise, win prizes at some carnival games, find lots of eggs, eat cotton candy, find Bennett's eggs for him, and have a hot dog. Perfect toddler day. We're also watching one of our favorite dogs for a last minute spring break request and Westin keeps saying "Oh I just love Rosie dog." He had a fun week. He also got to sing in sacrament meeting for the first time with primary today and he was sooo excited. He asked about a hundred times before going up there "Is it time yet?" and then after he just wanted to go up and "sing in that microphone again!" But really he didn't sing much while he was up there, and came and sat by me at the piano halfway through the song. Toddlers. Such a mystery in this life.

Bennett:

thinks Rosie is his pony and keeps trying to ride her, or brings me her leash so that I can put it on her for him to "walk her" around the house. What that really means is he hangs on and tries to keep up as she goes about her life. He's so funny. His deep belly laugh is just so Bennett and it makes me laugh every single time. He loved the Easter egg hunt too, but after he found two eggs he just held onto them for dear life and had no desire to find more. That would mean he'd have to let go of an egg, and that just wasn't an option. The other highlight for him was the big tortoise. He just wanted to lay on it. I think animals are Bennett's very favorite thing and it's so cute to see.

This big guy just ate grass while kids loved on him. 

Westin was ALL about this experience.
He kept making the noises that garbage trucks make and pretending to dump garbage with his hands.

Takes after his dad. I think cotton candy is so nasty! He and Michael always gladly eat my share.

Westin does things on his own timeline. Up until this moment he has been terrified of bounce houses and refused to go inside one. At this party I didn't even look twice at the toddler bounce house because I knew his history. He saw it and was so excited, and said, "Can I go jump in that dragon house?!" I said "Sure!" knowing he wouldn't actually want to. We got over to it, he took off his shoes, slide inside, and jumped for 15 minutes. I was shocked but had to act like it was no big deal because #parenting. He acted like he does this every day. The same thing happened with slides. Hopefully it also happens with water and swimming this summer? That's a big one. I'm keeping my eye out for swimming lessons for him.

Two eggs. Mission accomplished. 

Dog + Health challenge + spring weather = lots more walks this week.

We even took Rosie to our grocery pick up and Westin giggled the entire time. So did I. Then I saw all the hair in my car...

So much patience. I have much to learn from Rosie.

Bennett loves watching that brother.

Dad's helpers.

Playing soccer and basketball with Westin in the gym was really fun. He's growing up! And I love it and hate it and mostly love it. Motherhood is emotional, guys.

This picture is my favorite. Westin brought it to me and said, "I wrote my name! There's the W. And the T. And an I. What else do I need? So I told him to do an N, and he did, then an S, and an E. He put them in whatever order and they're not all legible, but I was just so impressed and proud of him! He has W down for sure, and anytime we drive by one on a sign he yells, "There's W for Westin!" Other sightings include "A for Apple! S for Snake! C for CAFE RIO!"

Library crew

Mr. Eric puts on a good time for story time.

"Helping" dad get new glasses. What would he do without us?

Such a cutie.

We wanted to eat cookies. We ate an apple instead. This health challenge deal is laaaame. But good. 

Bennett's nursery picture. It's supposed to be a crown for being a Child of God, but it's a little cut off and reminds me of a dunce hat... haha I love it. Westin refused to wear the hat for his picture... of course. Sometimes I just sit and remember how easy easy EASY going he was for the first year of his life. Then he started walking and walked right away from that. These boys are busy and the best!