How do you spend a rainy day?

sing silly songs and make up actions to them

Lots of playing with toys


Super Mario Brothers on the Wii

Hide and seek in the hall closet

We don't get a lot of days like these in Arizona. So we made the most of this one. I don't think I left the house all day. Me and the kids got some great quality time in together today. HOORAY for today being a rainy day!

Happy St Patty Day

That pesky Leo the leprechaun struck again! I asked the kids the night before if they thought Leo would find us in Arizona. They looked at me like I was crazy. Not a moment of doubt from any of them. Although when Taylor read the note this morning she said "Leo's handwriting looks a lot like yours mom!" Someone is catching on. Leo left us some fun toys for the pool, which we have already used a couple of times.

However, St. Patty's Day was not want I had hoped it would be. Poor Easton. Turns out his shirt is NOT that lucky. He woke up this morning, struggling to breath again. He had caught a little cold at the beginning of the week and it turns out after his ordeal last month that little cold was too much for his body to handle and it attacked him in full force. I took him to the doctor that morning and they send me back to Cardon Children's Medical Center, where they took one look at him pale, lethargic, retracting, and decided on the spot to admit him overnight. UNLUCKY indeed. Fortunately, for us all he got to come home the next day. What a nightmare. Our poor little Easty, he is such a tough kid. He's really had a tough couple of months.

Taylor's 8th birthday

What a milestone and bitter sweet day. I can hardly believe that my oldest is 8 years old. I found myself reminiscing all day long about the day she was born, bringing her home from the hospital, being so clueless as a first time mom, her first day of kindergarten, her first steps, all of the wonderful memories. I can honestly say that Taylor is such a joy to have in our family. She still loves to help and is very nurturing, her brothers absolutely adore her. She loves playing things such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones at recess. And her latest thing is apparently if the lines on the inside of your hands make a W you are a werewolf and if it makes a V you are a vampire. Sounds like someone has introduced Twilight to her. FYI me, her, Chase, Talan, Easton and Cort are all vampires.

Taylor at 5 months


Some of Taylor's favorite things at the age of 8
Favorite food: crab legs (YUM! One of my favorites too!)
favorite thing to do: play outside and tumbling
favorite scripture story: When Jesus comes to the Americas
favorite subject in school: math
favorite place to go: the beach
favorite thing to do with your mom: pedicures
favorite thing to do with your dad: go to basketball games
favorite things to do with brothers: skate outside

Taylor's birthday was a busy one. I met her at her school for lunch, which is a tradition for us. I loved being there and seeing her in her element. Taylor's friends always make sure you feel the love too, welcoming me with lots of hugs and hellos.

It was a extra early out day from school on her birthday, which was nice cause then we got to spend more of the day with her. She also had her first day of Activity days that day. Her wonderful leader took all the girls for ice cream for her birthday following the activity. Taylor came home BEAMING! I asked her how it was, what did you do? etc. etc. She said they made flowers for the mother daughter activity next month. Taylor told me when they started making it she thought in her head "oh no, I don't know how to do make these." But then Sister Spencer helped her and "then everything was okay." I love the way her mind works and the way she talks.
After her activity Chase and Taylor skated around the neighborhood for a bit, and then we all came in for presents and cake. Taylor wanted a sun cake this year for her birthday because they are learning about the solar system in school right now and she is fascinated by it. So Cort made this little beauty. She loved it.

Opening presents. I love how all the boys are lined up and hovered around her.

Taylor with her American girl doll bed we gave her for her birthday, that Cort made for her. Once again she loved it and I can't say I blame her, who wouldn't!

She wanted to go to Cheesecake factory for her big birthday dinner where she ordered a salad. She is getting to be so grown up. I would of never ordered a salad when I was in 2nd grade, I hardly do now.

Getting sung too

How cute is this kid! If I didn't know better I would think it was Chase. Funny thing is I am starting to notice that the things Easton is interested in is the same things as Chase at that age. He loves balls and anything associated with them. Chase was out playing basketball earlier today and Easton was his little shadow and would squeal whenever Chase made a basket.

After dinner we gave her some options of things she wanted to do. She came up with one of her own, she wanted to go home and run through the sprinklers in her swimsuit. Done and done. While we watched them all run around like mad in the dark that night, I told Cort you know this is what she is going to remember about her 8th birthday, running around in the sprinklers in the dark. It was a great memory in the making. We then all took turns racing down the street to help us dry off. That night I learned that Taylor is a really fast little runner, not that I am, but I had to really push myself to beat her!

I can't believe how fast the last 8 years have gone by. It makes me realize how fast the next 8 will go. I couldn't be more proud of the girl Taylor is. She is thoughtful, loyal, helpful, and sweet. She is for the most part always happy and can play with anyone and have a good time. She has the sweetest little testimony and loves to bear it whenever she gets the chance. She is doing amazing with her gymnastics and I am enjoying watching her grow and learn and become the person she is suppose to be. Happy birthday to our Taylor!

Glad that's over

Last Wednesday Easton was not feeling well. He didn't want to eat, and he just laid around all day watching TV, so NOT like him. He hadn't really been sick until that day, a little cough and a runny nose. It wasn't until Cort got home from school on Wednesday and Easton had waken up from his nap that we knew we needed to take him in. It seemed like he was working a little to hard to breath. I stayed with the other kids while Cort ran Easton over to the doctor's office. I tried calling Cort a little later to see what the doctor had said, my heart dropped when he said they were putting him in an ambulance and sending him to the Children's Hospital in Phoenix. I immediately ran to my wonderful neighbors house, dropped my other 3 kids off there and rushed to the hospital, where I found Easty and Cort in a hospital room being examined. Poor Easton. Cort said when they tried to give him his IV he just made a little whimper. Turns out Easton had RSV, and an pneumonia. His oxygen levels were really low. When they first got to the doctors they checked his oxygen levels and they were in the 60s and they aren't suppose to drop below 90 and that is why they sent him to the hospital. My sweet Aunt came to the rescue and got our 3 kids from my neighbors and stayed with them for a couple hours while we tried to figure out what was going on with Easton. She then brought me a bag of stuff on her way home since the doctor told us on his way out, after telling us the results of all the tests they had run, that Easton would DEFINITELY be spending the night in the hospital. That first night they didn't have any rooms open in the actual hospital so we stayed in one of the rooms in the ER. They brought in a crib for Easton, since there was only a bed in that room. At around 2:00 in the morning that first night, Eastons oxygen level dropped again and the nurses rushed in and sucked him out and then decided that they needed to hook him to a oxygen mask permanently so that his levels wouldn't do that again. The Respiratory therapist came in and decided he needed to be on high flow oxygen as well. Needless to say, it was all kind of scary. Watching his levels go so low and seeing him just laying there so lethargic so not like him, really got to me. Me and Cort thought for sure we would only be there for that night but that one night stay turned into a four day four night stay. Me and Cort switched off nights and days staying with Easton. By Saturday he was doing awesome, but they needed him to stay until he had been off oxygen for 24 hours. Hospital policy. That first night Easton and me ended up sleeping in the same bed cause he kept pulling off his oxygen mask whenever I put him in the crib. But it turned out okay because we just cuddled, which in the moment was all I wanted to do. Then once they got us up in the room the next day, they said we could have a crib or a bed, we choose the bed and just had sleepovers every night. On the second night when I came home it felt so strange knowing that Easton wasn't up in his room in his bed. I didn't sleep well those nights. The whole thing feels so surreal now and you would never know that he's been sick. He got well just as fast as he got sick it seems. Although I think he is going to be under quarantine for a week or two. I don't want to spread germs nor risk him getting sick again while he's trying to heal. So grateful he's home now and getting back to normal. The whole experience was very scary and left me feeling drained. Through it all I knew he was going to be okay, but watching him go through it was really hard. The kids missed him so much while he was gone too. Talan hated leaving him in the hospital room and cried when we got home "I miss my Peasty!" He would say. The third day Easton was there we took the boys up to see him and for Cort and me to trade while walking out to the car, Talan stopped dead in his tracks, folded his arms and declared "I'm not going! I'm not leaving my Peasty!" I had to pick him up and carry him to the car. If you know Talan you know that once he sets his mind to something good luck trying to talk him out of it. Plus, it was pretty sweet to see how much he loves his brother. Talan has always been so protective of Easton. So grateful we are ALL home now and that Easton is feeling so much better and for all of our loved ones prayers and concerns and for those who helped us out during this craziness when our lives were put on hold.