Cousins!

The girls are growing and changing. In Feb when we first got them together they looked a lot a like. In March in Hawaii, not as much. Now in April as Claire's hair is coming in and brynn gets older there are not many similarities. They are about the same size though and weigh 14.2 and 14.4 I think. Its fun!

Diamondbacks Game

First Solar hosted a family party at the Diamondbacks game last Saturday. It was fun to be there!

Lovely

I had Jake's playgroup here last week. They were outside jumping on the trampoline and having lunch when one of the boys came in and said, "Rigley is throwing his food into the pool!" So I went out to find that Conner was inside the pool gate!

I didn't panic because I know Connor, I know Connor's family and I know he can swim, however when I asked how in the world he got in (in knew the gate was still shut) he demonstrated. So I went for my camera.

Jake and Rigley were impressed by Connor's ability to scale the pool fence, however unable to do it themselves. After trying to stack patio chairs on top of one another they gave up. I then strongly reminded them that it is naughty to climb into the pool gate and we all went inside.

This is just another reminder as to why it is so important to get our little ones swimming as young as possible here in AZ. Too many pools not to.

Claire Bear at 5 months!

Can we possibly have had this little darling in our home for almost a half year?! Everything about this child is joyful - she is like dessert after a long day, her kisses are like candy, her smell is delicious, her little body is edible! We can't get enough. Fortunate for me, she may be the easiest child on earth. She is pleasant and calm and requires so very little! Tyler and I feel like she just gives and gives with her sweet spirit. New this month...
- She's rolling over! Front to back, and becoming much more curious about reaching things in the world around her.
- She's begun sucking her fingers in bed after she's lost her binki! Oh, no... binki habits are so much easier to break than finger habits! ... but what can we do. It it will be interested to see how this develops in the weeks to come.
- Her hair is coming in! She's definitey red, about the same color Ash was as a baby (bright), but Ash had much more at this age and it was already a little bit curly. I see no signs of curls on Claire yet, but she's still just fuzzy. Again, it was be fun to watch it grow in over the next several months.
- She continues to eat baby food, but once in a while. The trip to Hawaii wiped out some of my resolve to feed her more solids and she does seem to be doing okay. I feed her whenever it sounds fun. And then I nurse all the time. She's probably had 5 bottles in her lifetime and does okay with them, just not her favorite.

- She contines to be a binki lover. And a swaddler sleeper. Doesn't have a blankie yet, but I'm thinking of starting her on the thin recieving blankets since the HEAT is around the corner here. She likes her swing more now, and can grab at, hold and bring toys to her mouth.
- She likes to "sing" to us when she's happy and often while she's nursing but not that hungry. It's adorable.
- She sleeps in her own bed and room every night for about 10 hours with one feeding somewhere in there and naps roughly 3 times a day on no consistent schedule. She loves walks, riding in the bike trailer (in her carseat), showers and baths and being played with. She squeals with delights when we tickle her tummy with our faces.

I'm often asked how many children I have and if we're going to have more. When I was pregnant this last time I couldn't imagine anything being worth doing it again (how horrible does that sound). Of course now we can't even begin to imagine our lives without Claire and I've already forgotten what was really so bad about being pregnant (it's SO worth it)! Raising a large family is never easy, especially in today's world, but the most difficult things in life are usually those with the greatest rewards. I know that to be true. Family is what life's all about.

P.S. Thanks Jilly for taking pics of us together!

Dayton's Legs

We talk to our kids constantly about being good people; "Choosing the Right" and "Trying to Be Like Jesus" are common phrases spoken in our home. I often remind my children about Benny in the movie The Sandlot who had the courage to befriend the new boy in town and stand up for him even when he was no good at baseball.

Auntie Shelly showed us this video this afternoon about her seminary teacher's nephew. Whew, it brings tears to the eyes. To raise remarkable children like this young man... is our ultimate goal.

"oh we're going... to a Huki'lau"

I've spent the day letting Jake and Claire nap and play at home, while I've blogged and done laundry. Here are the monster posts about our trip!!

Here we are at the airport anxiously awaiting our flight and trip to Hawaii!!


The kids were great on the flights. Watched movies, played with the ipod, listened to music and slept the last three hours all stacked up on each other!


It was late when we arrived in Oahu and Jake was feeling it, but Ashley was all smiles when she saw her first signs of actually being in Hawaii - people wearing leis and the cute bathroom signs!! Before we knew it we had hooked up with Ali and Blake and my mom and were on our way to the hotel! :)

Mom's B-day/St. Patty's Day, Dole Plantation and Waikiki

Mom's b-day was fun. We woke her up early to a suprise Ali had worked on - getting pics from lots of friends and family holding up signs that said "Happy Birthday, Kendall!" She loved it. We dressed her in green and I gave her the shirts I had made for our trip! She chose to do the Dole Plantation on her day so we all wore them out. We ate so much pineapple we could have puked, but had a fun time seeing where everything grows and trying pineapple ice-cream, chocolate covered pineapple, pineapple chunks, juice, you name it. Ashley got to pick a pearl out of a clam and Tyler and the kids did the world famous maze, which they loved! Afterward the boys took all the kids back to the hotel to watch the BYU game and the girls and babies took a drive to the North Shore to see some awesome waves and beaches! Then we all hunkered down by the pool and took the night easy.

Laie Temple, BYU Hawaii, Polynesian Cultural Center

Friday we drove to the North Shore to see the Laie Temple and BYU Hawaii. We also spent most of the day at the PCC. Highlights included: seeing a Samoan guy climb the palm tree, crack open a coconut with a rock and show us how to get the coconut milk; watching him also make fire with sticks and trying it for ourselves; learning to play games with the New Zealanders; hearing the Tahitians bang their drums and dance; learning the hula; throwing spears with the Tongans; seeing where they cook the pig at the luau; and watching Ha, the breath of life show! The flame thrower/spinner/dancers were incredible.