A sweet baby to keep in our prayers

On the right side of my blog at the bottom of my friends links there is a family called the Gledhill family. They are neighbors and friends of my mom's in Utah who recently had a baby girl with a severe heart defect. They knew that she had it from her mid-way ultrasound and have shown SO much courage throughout the pregnancy and the last 10 or so days since she's been born. She is really beautiful, big and hearty looking and their entries touch me so much. Since my mom showed me their blog last week I have had her and them on my mind so much, and even though I don't know them personally, I have been so impressed by their faith and trust in the Lord. I want to invite my few friends who check my blog to see their story if you want to. They are an amazing family and can use many prayers!

ROCKY POINT

Just four or five hours from here we have a great little spot of the earth called Rocky Point, in Mexico. This weekend my mom, Shelly, Maddie, Ali and Blake all flew in and we made the drive down to enjoy the beach and relaxation!
Rocky Pointe is cool because it is easy to get to in the car, but feels very FAR away, with being in another country and no cell phones, etc. It really is a good place to go to get away with family!
We packed all of the food and water we would need for the week, brought it with us and enjoyed just staying at the hotel most of the time. We love how the pools are right on the edge of the beach so we can choose to just walk back and forth all day with the kids. We did venture out a few times for tacos and shops though! Quite the experience driving and eating there sometimes. But always an adventure!
We celebrated Easter there and went to church in town which was very sweet and humbling. Listened to all of sacrament meeting in spanish, and felt their love.
As you can see in the pictures we had tons of fun...
Maddie with her unbrella in the wind The bathing beauties
My stud-muffin
Maddie and Jakey in the condo
The Hillstead Duos Ash on the Pirate ship Luke competing in the pirate dance competition

My three cuties!
Our sand castle
BEACH BUM
Ashley getting her hair braided on the beach
The view from our room at Las Palomas
Riding the Banana Boats!
Enjoying my chips and guac'
My babes

High School Friends

Last week my great friends from high school, Heidi and Megan came over for a visit. Megan and her BF James live up in Seattle but Heidi and her BF Lance recently moved here to Scottsdale! We treated ourselves to some deliciously refreshing Otter Pops and were entertained by my kids for a while and then got the sitter and went out to dinner at Oreganos. It was very fun to catch up with them both after so many years. When we left Tyler commented to me that "those we two of the coolest guys". I thought you (Heid and Meg) would like hearing that! We really had a good time with you all! Looking forward to seeing you again at the reunion in Sept!

Easter Egg Hunt

Here are some pictures of the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt that Tyler and I helped put together. It was a perfect morning and we had a lot of support from our neighbors and friends. Sand toys, sidewalk chalk, a couple bounce-houses, donuts and juice... really go a long way! The kids loved hunting for the hundreds of eggs we had thrown around, too!

My birthday

The night of my birthday Tyler, Luke, Ashley and I went to the Easter Pagent. It was a beautiful night and a fun memory. I took a couple pictures to remember the night. And for anyone who has never been here for the pagent, try coming out next year. It is a treat.

Three Sneaky Mice...

(To the Tune of three blind mice)

Three sneaky mice,
Three sneaky mice...

See how they eat,
see how they eat...

They all devour the chocolate chips,
they all devour the chocolate chips..

Three sneaky mice, three sneaky mice!

My Quilt

In December I decided to make a quilt for my friend for her birthday. My master-quilter mother got me off to a great start before I left her house at Christmas and I actually, shockingly kept going from there! I am proud to say that I made this quilt all by myself (thanks mom, for the pointers and finish work!) This truly was a gift of love for my great friend Jilly!

Backyard Campout

This weekend we decided to have a campout in the backyard. We figured "why drag everything up to the mountains when the trampoline is just as exciting for the kids?" And- we could come in at mid-night when it got cold?!
As you see we did roast hot-dogs and mallows over the BBQ, ate smores, and slept out under the stars. And the best part was that we were able to tuck Jakey inside in his own crib where he likes to be when bedtime came!
It was actually very fun and I recommend the idea to others with small ones.

Digital Scrapbooking

Hey I just want to ask if anyone reading this does, or knows something about digital scrapbooking. My friend showed me all the stuff she has downloaded off the internet yeseterday and made me a page that was unbelievable! No cutting, gluing, no mess and no picture developing...it was amazing. I am motivated now to start heading the digital direction but I would like some tips like where to get stuff, etc if any of my friends have some. Thanks!

Sugar and Spice...makes everything nice!

My great friend Jill and I have babies that couldn't be more opposite. Even though she and I are a ton alike, her daughter is a mild mannered princess and my baby is a rough and tumble maniac. We laugh now whenever we get them together because they are always excited to see each other at first, but then Hannah flinches when Jake steps too close and Jake just loves the rise he gets out of us when he attacks. He isn't trying to be mean, in fact if he could speak I think he would say, "come on Hannah girl... get in here, let's wrestle!" But if she could speak she would say to him "I am much too proper for these animal games". So funny.

On that note I want to say too that my son Jake is truly the most active child I and many others who have made comments have ever known. He genuinely NEVER stops moving. Know anyone like that? I concluded yesterday that the reason he naps and sleeps so well everyday is because he BURNS through his energy and then has to climb in bed to recharge his batteries. This morning when I went in to get him he was already at it - doing seat wars like you do on the trampoline and saying "Mommy, Watch". How did I get so lucky?!! Precious boy.

A new chapter begins

Well, with the email that was sent out today throughout the PHX PwC office it is now official that Tyler is leaving the firm! As of a few weeks ago we decided to take a new job with a company here in Arizona called First Solar. Tyler will be doing similar work to what he has been doing at PwC, but will be handling the audit as an internal auditor rather than an external. It's been a very quick process for us, but we both feel excited about the change!

A Leap-Year Birthday for Maddie

It's late tonight, but I don't want to head to bed without posting something special for my sweet sister Maddie whose birthday it is today. Typically at this point of not seeing straight because it has been such a long day I would say "oh, I'll do something for her tomorrow." BUT since TODAY is her REAL birthday, this post has to be dated TODAY, and not tomorrow - this is only her fifth REAL birthday of her life. How would that be?! All I know is I would be expecting people to pull out all the stops. You better believe it!

So anyway Maddie, if you are reading (and I will call to make sure you do!) I want you to know how much I love you. I think you are beautiful, talented, brillant, funny and kind. Your creative and fun-loving, wild and passionate ways are much needed in this family. We are thankful for YOU!

I hope your day was full of love and happiness. I wish we all could have celebrated together. Was looking for a picture of you to post...and came across this one first. Something about it made me smile and think it would work. Happy Birthday! :)

Here's to a GREAT 8!

Yesterday Tyler and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary. As is tradition, we planned a weekend away and my wonderful mom once again came to take care of the kids. They were as excited about spending time with her as we were to pull out of the driveway Thursday night! We couldn't get out of there fast enough!
So we were off to Irvine, CA, a five hour drive from here. We left with few plans, but I was committed not to get out of bed until noon the next day. It was amazing.

We enjoyed plenty of time relaxing at the hotel, and great entertainment that is so nice when spent with the one you love! The beach, shopping, eating out, movies, room service... One of the weekend's hightlights was Knotts-berry farm where we about lost our lives on the ghetto old wooden coaster. We laughed and I cried coming in the gate. Torturous.



Every year when we take a few days get away together it makes our anniversary so special. I am lucky to be married to my best friend. XO XO Ty. Thanks for a great trip

Todd and Nat's Visit.

This weekend Todd and Natalie drove down to spend some time with us. It was so wonderful to see them and get some quality time with them here at our house. Unfortunately it rained all day Friday which was a bummer but we ended up having a fun date night at the KEG for dinner and playing games at Dave and Busters. Sunday we borrowed some bikes and enjoyed a beautiful bike ride around the neighborhood. It was an event all of us could enjoy, even Jakey as we stopped at the park and had some laughs and picked fruit along the way! We love you Todd and Nat



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Charlie Bit Me

Maddie had me watch this cute video on YouTube and I thought it was so cute that I added it here. Enjoy.

Two of my favorite QUOTES

I love these two quotes because they remind me of who I want to be and how I can find balance from day to day. I have the first one up in my kitchen to read often and the second one in my baby's room where I can see it from the rocking chair. Sometimes things can seem so crazy but when I read this first quote from Sister Hinckley I am reminded that life was not designed to be clean and orderly and calm all the time! I do appreciate the reminder also to soak in the moments with my little kids and to forget about all the stuff (like excess housework) that will always be here waiting for me tomorrow.

I really lived - "I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

"Babies Don't Keep - Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow...for babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow...So quiet down cobwebs -dust go to sleep...I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

Backyard Fun!

The kids and I had a good time today out in our semi-new backyard as I tried to get some weeds sprayed. We recently re-landscaped with artificial turf (pathetic and amazing at the same time!) and built a new garden along the side of the house. I took these pictures mainly for Ali to see, but ended up with some cute ones of the kids and thought I'd share with you all.