She's Here!!

I love this sweet picture of Ali and their new baby! She was delivered via c-section this morning about ten after mid-night - after 37 hours of induced labor over the last ten days (three times, twice sent home from the hospital). My sister is a champ!! So, as you can see from the cheeks she is a hearty one, weighing in at 9 pounds 4 ounces!! Holy Cow she was ready!

We are so happy for B&A and little Lauren/Paige. Hooray!!

A word about Blake and Ali

Our trip to Washington was WONDERFUL! I heard we hit the first sunny Memorial Day weekend since 1964! It is just beautiful there. Since our sweet little neice had not yet arrived we were able to spend an unexpected couple days with Blake and Ali and it was really a treat. I felt terrible for Ali who is SUCH a trooper - now 9 days OVERDUE!! She was pleasant and showered and got dressed and shopped around just like the rest of us. She is incredible.


Our favorite activity was eating. We found a hole in the wall Thai food restaraunt in the U district called Thai Toms and ate there twice in three days. It was SO good. We also enjoyed plenty of Tillamook ice-cream that they made us fans of.

Blake is incredible too. We stopped in to visit him at the dental school at UW. I am confident that he is one of the smartest people I know. He solved a rubix cube in a minute and a half for us and says he is going to keep a few in his waiting room and challenge his patients to beat him for discounted services! Pretty cool. He was a little embarrassed that I was taking pictures in his lab but I tried to look cool.



Of course I have to mention the pain I felt at leaving without meeting the new baby. It was unbelievable that we missed her after planning on being there at the perfect time for so long. We couldn't get over the fact that she was right there the whole time -- so close, and yet so far away! I did have a little talk with her about how important it was to come out but she didn't listen.
I gave her a little hug in the end to let her know that we forgive her. And I hear now that tomorrow is finally the day - another induction planned!! :)

Thanks for another fun trip you two (three)! We love you!!

Off to Seattle!

This weekend Tyler and I get to fly up to Seattle together. My sweet sister Maddie flew in to watch the kids. She is awesome. We are going up for one of my best friend from high school's wedding. I am excited about being there, I know it will be beautiful. An event not to be missed.

Also, we are going up to see Ali and Blake. Their baby was due Monday and she still has not come, and I am obviously hoping beyond hope that we get a chance to meet her before coming home Monday. Won't that be precious? I will be sick if I come home and Ali is still pregnant. Not quite as sick as Ali will be about it though!! So wish her some luck! :)

Tyler just walked in with my wedding ring which I just had repaired and re-dipped. It looks beautiful!! I haven't been wearing it for over a month now since I noticed that two of the prongs were broken so I am suddenly feeling like I did the day I got engaged...keep noticing it and thinking it looks so pretty! After ten years of wearing this, I guess it was time to pay it some TLC.

Lastly, if you've noticed that I haven't been posting pictures lately it is because I dropped my brand new camera and broke it!! So sad! I am just sick about it. I missed sharing pictures of Mother's day, Ty's birthday, etc. Last night I busted out the old dinosaur and charged her up. Why do I feel so silly using it now? It seems huge!!

One more thing. I got called to work in Cub Scouts this week at church. I am working with the Wolves (8 year olds). Today I got my scout shirt and patches and I am sporting them now. I look so cool.

So I got my ring, my scout shirt, my sister in town and I am off to Washington for the weekend. That's what's new here! :)

TV Week in Review

First of all, sick about Jack Bauer. I wish my last name was Bauer and I could tell people he was my brother. I am sad that I can't watch him every Monday night. And I sure hope his daughter saves him and he recovers in time for another season. 24 is too awesome.

About A.I. What in the world has this world come to with that bimbo in the swimsuit?! My mouth hung open the entire time and the only silver lining to it was that American Idol made her look like a fool in the end. That whole part was astonishing to me. But I like how Cara worked it. Crazy though.

And let me just say I AM SO HAPPY THAT KRIS WON!!! He seems like such a great guy. I am so happy that he is our American Idol! How many were dying about how sweet the final shot of him hugging/crying in his wife's shoulder was?! I loved it.

Great week. Sad my shows are over.

Sunday is a special day

In trying to teach the kids a love for Sunday and also how to keep the Sabbath day Holy I have been trying to get creative. We don't swim on Sunday and we also try not to watch regular TV, thus opening up a lot of time for family togetherness, which can be wonderful and challenging both (espcially when you live in Hell half the year). I don't want the kids to see Sunday as a day of "don'ts" or "we can'ts" but rather wake up with a "yeah, it is Sunday" feeling.

I concluded yesterday that I want to offically declare a need for NO CHORES/NO WORK on Sundays. Afterall, it is the day of rest. I know this will thrill them since chore charts have become a way of life around here and on every other day of the week I am riding them on that. Sundays though will remain blank!

So yesterday I kept emphasizing all the great things we can do on Sunday - calling grandmas, coloring pictures and making letters for our cousins, reading books and scripture stories, playing games together, etc. and tried to continually point out that we didn't have to clean-up - do dishes, make our beds, etc.

When I took Jakey potty I asked if he had gone poo-poo and he informed me that he doesn't go 'poops' on Sunday. It was quite funny.

I wanted to post this with the question of what you all do to make Sunday a special day at your house. What traditions do you have? What do your kids like to do to keep busy? We would love any suggestions or new ideas.

Happy Birthday, My Love!!

I love Tyler so much!! I felt so badly for him on Monday when it was his birthday but such a bad/hard day that we didn't even acknowledge it but with a smile and roll of the eyes! Today we are making up for it by pretending that today was the day he was born! The kids and I decorated and set up a surprise breakfast. We got him to open his gifts and he was very surprised and happy. HE DESERVES IT!!

Tyler is the most kind and loving man. He is a huge family man, always preferring time with me and the kids over doing anything on his own or away from us. No matter how tired he may be at night he will choose to put the kids to bed and spend that time with them even when I offer to give him the night off. He loves his kids!!

He is SUCH a hard worker. Every single day, almost every second of every day he is being productive. At work, at home, at play he is working hard. It is one of the attributes I love, admire and appreciate most about him.

Tyler is my best friend. If you know him, you know he is a good conversationalist. He loves to chat. My mom and aunts and sisters love him for it, too. Every night I look forward to talking with him about things because he always shares a good, fresh perpective. He is so smart and has insights that are exactly what I need to hear! He is the best listener - and he is often rubbing my feet while he does it!! I am a lucky girl for that no doubt.

I could keep going on and on but his 'mini-me' (Jake) is begging me to stop. Lastly I will say that Tyler is FUN. He makes my life a joy. He is enthusiastic. He is reliable, dependable. He loves loading the family up and getting out to do stuff. His favorite thing in the world is family swim parties and I honestly think he would choose to do that over anything else on a Saturday afternoon. It's when he is happiest - at home with his family.

I love you so much, Tyler. I am blessed to be your wife. I hope you have a happy day today. XO XO forever!!


P.S. This is how I knew Tyler in high school. Classic, isn't it?! :)

Four down, One to go

Yesterday Tyler left work early to pick up the kids from school and take them over to swim team since I still wasn't on top of my game. Within minutes Luke announced that he thought he had mom's sickness and threw up all over in the front seat of Ty's car. They came home immediately. 3 down.
Tonight about 2am I wake up to retching (sound familiar?). It's Tyler this time. Poor guy, can't catch a break. I lay there in the dark considering how thankful I am that this flu is not the killer swine flu that they initially feared. Because if it were, we'd all be dead now - leaving Ashley alone to fend for herself with her three month supply of food and water.

A Mother's Day Bust - or Blessing?

It's Sunday morning, Mother's Day, 2am and Jakey has tearfully arrived at my bedside. "Mommy", I barfed up in my bed". "Oh, baby. You're sick? Climb in here with mommy", I said, as I thought about how exhausted I felt and determined to deal with the mess in the morning. He crashed immediately and I lay in between he and Tyler, wishing I could stick a leg out for some air. It was hot.

4am, I am startled awake by the sounds of gagging and retching. Within a second I have jumped up and whisked my child to the side of the toilet, feeling terrible for him and also feeling semi-amused at the way he sticks his whole head inside the toilet bowl to take care of business. Then I get dizzy. I carry him back into the bedroom, announcing to Tyler that we have a problem. He sits up in bed and I say "take him, I feel like I am going to die".

Dizzy, nauseaus and light-headed I take myself back into the toilet's edge not sure what is going to happen next. I lay myself down on the cool tile, head resting on the scale. "ANNE! Anne, did you pass out?" I wake up to Tyler standing over me wondering what just happened. "Ughhh" I moan, "I'm sick".

From there I head into the dark living room and drop on the couch. It's all I can do to find something to cover myself up with and I leave Jake and Tyler to fend for themselves. Hours later I become concious to the sound of fancy shoes click- clacking on the tile floors, I hear the garage door open and slam shut and when I muster the strength to open my eyes I see sunlight and, pressed against my face, a bright yellow pendant with silk flowers glued on to a flower-pot with kindergarten handwriting that says: "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY". Ashley is beaming as she presents me with her gift, tells me that it has been hiding in her backpack, and that she got all ready for church by herself since it is mother's day. It is now 6:15am.

I hold my breath and hug her. I tell her how sweet she is and how much I love her, then ask if she wouldn't mind if I take her gift down to Luke's room with me where I am now planning to find refuge from the day. I disappear.

By 9:30 it is clear that making it to church is not in the cards for Jake nor I. We are all disappointed. Ty and the kids will be singing in sacarament meeting. And I love mother's day at church. But Jake's been urping up on the floors all morning and I can't sit upright without doing the same, so they leave us.

The day continues with naps, vomiting, sipping liquid, trying to sleep. I hear phases of commotion upstairs, lots of footsteps, moments of silence and I know Tyler is busy. When we went to bed last night the house was a mess.

I feel sorry for myself, down in the dungeon alone, in misery. I wonder what it would be like if this was my jail cell and the only glimpse of sunlight and the outside world was the piece I could see up over the window well. I watch the sky, the leaves, and roll over.

They come down to visit me around dinner time. I've just thrown up again, so I am feeling better than I was five minutes prior, and I decide to join them upstairs. As I climb the stairs it smells good. I can see that Tyler's been vacumming. The house is tidy. The laundry is going and there are folded piles of clean sheets and blankets in the living room. The kids are coloring, our home is calm. I am filled with a sense of peace and happiness.

From my perch on the couch I watch Tyler and Jake head out back to barbeque. They look so much a like. They are so cute together. I listen to Luke and Ashley who are sitting together drawing, talking about school friends and why so many girls like Luke because of his hair (he said it). I smile. And it dawns on me. Maybe this mother's day flu hasn't been all that bad after all. Yes, I've been miserable and Ashley's never heard of any mother being sick on Mother's day, but it's given me some time to step back out of the picture, watch and listen to my family like a fly on the wall, and to reflect upon just how lucky I am to have them.

By the evening's end, Tyler had returned from the park, done baths and tucked the kids all in. And then he had time for me. He sat by me and rubbed my aching head. And I felt like the luckiest mom in the world.

Happy (Grand)Mother's Day, Grandma Wells!

This is a special post for our grandma, Lenore Wells. What a sweet and wonderful woman she is. We love knowing that she checks this blog often to see updates on our family and are so impressed with her computer savvy, even at her young age! ;) HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY GRANDMA, WE LOVE YOU!! - Anne

Brotherly Love

These were taken at the zoo. I love watching my kids interact with each other, they are all such good buddies and have unique relationships within their little trio. On this day it was especially cute to watch Luke and Jake hanging out together and enjoying some time exploring in the sand and the stream. Just sweet.