My Sister Is Engaged!

My sister, Lisa, called last night to let us know that she is engaged! She has been dating Lee for about a year and a half and he is totally perfect for her and for our family. We couldn't be happier!


Here's her gorgeous ring! Like the manicure? We all got our nails done for Scott and Erica's wedding and Lee had the foresight to propose while her nails still looked good. Okay, I doubt Lisa's manicure was a factor for him, but it definitely worked out well for the pictures!

Scott and Erica

My brother, Scott, got married this past weekend to his absolute perfect match - Erica. I just have to say that my brothers have done a phenomenal job of choosing their wives. They are both very happily matched and what's even better is that they have each chosen girls who I absolutely love and would want in my life anyway! Wasn't that considerate of them?! :)

It was such a beautiful wedding - a perfect day. The venue was gorgeous - right at the foot of Mt. Hood in Oregon. And Erica has such a talent for knowing what will look nice and making things pretty. Everything looked so great and she was a stunning bride. We feel so lucky to have Erica join our family. She is warm and kind and fun - we love her. Scott is happier than I've ever seen him - that brings us all a lot of joy.

Now the happy couple is honeymooning in Maui.
Congratulations, Scott and Erica!

Better Late Than Never

Amber and Alyssa had their first day of school a week ago Tuesday. We were slightly preoccupied (Haley had been transferred from our local hospital to Seattle Childrens' the night before) so hats off to Nana Jo who remembered to take the traditional 'first day of school' picture! Here they are on their way out the door. Amber is starting 8th grade and Alyssa is starting 2nd. They are both delighted with their teachers and their classes and excited to have the new school year under way.

Danny had his first day of kindergarten on Tuesday. Kindergarten in Walla Walla is full-day, but they start out with a couple of half-days to help ease the kids into it. Here he is outside his classroom. He had such a great time and is very ready for kindergarten. Hopefully kindergarten is ready for him, too :)

To Be Continued...as Haley's first day of school will probably be in another week or two.

Haley's Home!

Haley was discharged from the hospital yesterday and we got home last night. It is SO good to be back home and all together as a family under one roof! That said, she's still pretty miserable and her doctors say it'll be a while before she is 100% She not supposed to go to school this week (she's on bed rest) and next week is iffy. We'll have to see what her pediatrician says. She'll be seeing him weekly (with weekly x-rays) for a while.

In the meantime she is resting and watching DVDs (thanks, Susie!), working on regaining her appetite, and taking lots and lots of huge pills :) She is such a trooper and we are very proud of how strong she has been (emotionally and physically) throughout all of this.

Many thanks to all those who have been so very supportive. We are blessed with great family and friends.

No Fun

Just a quick update. We found out last Friday that Haley has pneumonia. It wasn't responding to antibiotics so they admitted her to the hospital. By Monday she was still not doing well so they flew her (along with Brad) to Seattle Childrens' Hospital. She had surgery last night to remove fluid from around her right lung. This morning she is doing pretty well. She's resting comfortably and the doctors say she is on the right track. Brad and I are both with her for now while wonderful grandparents take care of the other kids (who had the first day of school yesterday).

Keep Haley in your prayers :)

Birthday Boy!

The 23rd was Danny's 6th birthday! His birthday post is late...but better late than never!

The Big Day...
The two things I remember most about the day Danny was born are:

1)Asking the doctor if Danny was was a boy right after he was born. We'd been told after our ultrasound that he was a boy, but having had 3 girls in a row I was in 'I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it' mode!

2)Looking at his little baby boy hands and being amazed at how much different they looked than little baby girl hands.

Nickname...
"Danny Boy"

Danny's Song...
"Daniel", by Elton John...Duh!

Interesting Facts about Danny...
Daniel is our super active, super outgoing, super loving little guy. He is fun-loving and friendly and always on the go. Seriously. Always. Danny loves to play with his siblings and with his friends. He loves dinosaurs, cars, spiderman, Power Rangers and animals. He has a really positive, up-beat personality and he's just a ton of fun.

We love our Danny Boy!

Home Sweet Home

We have been out of town (on the road with the kids) for 2-1/2 weeks! A few words of advice for any of you who may be toying with a similar idea:

1. Gallon-sized zip locks make excellent vomit bags.
2. BYOM (bring your own music...so you're not submitted to the horrors of listening to hours and hours of Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, etc.)
3. No matter what DO NOT FORGET TO BRING ALONG YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR!

We had a great trip, though we are all exhausted and Brad and I are fighting colds. That's not too bad considering all the things that could go wrong while traveling by car for 2+ weeks with five kids.

Here's a little update on our summer tour:

CANADA
We began by driving up to Canada to visit family, camp in Waterton National Park and attend Brad's 20-year high school reunion. There was lots of family in town so there was catching up to be done and plenty of cousins for the kids to play with 24/7. We camped with Carolyn and Tylor and their girls and with Brad's cousin, Dave (who was vacationing on his own and brave/crazy enough to set up his tent in between ours and Carolyn/Tylor's!) Brad fished morning and night, catching a couple of pretty big ones! The kids played hard in and around Waterton Lake, enjoyed their cousins thoroughly and even, by huge coincidence, met up with some of the kids they met last year while we camped in Waterton! I read through the 4th Twilight book (loved it!) and enjoyed visiting with family (loved that, too!)

We saw a TON of wildlife while in Waterton. Including, but not limited to: bears, deer, mountain goats, moose and buffalo.

Brad had a great time at his 20-year reunion! He loved catching up with old friends and reminiscing about their younger years. I had a good time too. A lot of Brad's graduating class went to college together, which is where I met them. It felt a bit like a BYU reunion for me! It was so great to see old friends we'd lost touch with! Brad and his graduating class got to ride on a float in the Cardston parade the weekend of their reunion. Here they are as they passed where we were staked out. The kids were thrilled to see their Dad in a parade and just when they thought it couldn't get any better, he threw them a bunch of Canadian candy (the BEST candy on the planet!)
UTAH
From Canada we drove down to Utah. Yes, most of us had already been to Utah once this summer. But our niece, Cori, got married August 14th and we just couldn't miss that! Cori and Tyler got married in the Salt Lake Temple and Grandpa Brent was their sealer. It was a really neat experience and we wouldn't have missed it for the world.

VANCOUVER
Our next stop was Vancouver, WA. where we spent the night at my parents' house and then left all the kids with them (and the 80-pound dog who they'd already had as a house guest for 2 weeks!) while Brad and I went to MY 20-year high school reunion. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

SEATTLE
Which brings us to Seattle. Let me just say to any of you who may attempt a trip of this nature with five kids, do plan on leaving them with grandma and grandpa for at least 24 hours while you visit another city ALONE! That was the perfect way to wrap up this vacation! We had a good time at my high school reunion (okay, AMY had a good time, BRAD was a good sport and faked it well). The best part, though, was having that time alone together after such a crazy, hectic two weeks.

Here I am with high school friends Marlo, Becky and Dave.

Now we are home and trying to catch up on our lives - it will take weeks, I'm sure! But we had so much fun - lots of quality time with friends and family, and many great memories for years to come!