Utah

Thanks to Aunt Kay and her buddy passes, we were all able to take a trip to Utah over the weekend. It was fast and furious but my was it fun!

Getting on the plane both times was a bit crazy but we managed. I had two suitcases, two car seats, two kids, two backpacks, and a stroller. We looked ridiculous. Getting on the plane in Phoenix, Kelsey cried the whole way to the ticket counter as I  dragged, literally dragged, everything.  Madison completely covered in stuff and I needed about 4 more hands but we made it. I dont know how but we did.
Salt Lake was a little better because we had Aunt Kays helped but it was still a bit crazy.  I may or may not have, but most certainty did run into the automatic doors and knocked it off the track. Like the door stopped working all together. The glares from the 80 year old women who watched me do it kind of made the whole thing complete. And don't worry, I only dropped everything in the middle of the road twice. No one honked very loud.

And can I just say the girls were incredible on the plane. On the way home our DVD player died before take off and I had packed all of Kelsey's toys thinking that she would just watch a movie. I was freaking out but she did awesome. She colored in SkyMall, looked out the window, talked to the people around us (her ears didn't pop so she actually YELLED at them. It was hilarious) , and of course ate lots of snacks. It felt like all those years (okay 3) of making her just sit and wait paid off. I have always tried really hard to not use my phone as a source of entertainment. Clearly there is a time and a place, but in my house, that time and place is not every time you go to the store.  Kelsey has learned in a small way to entertain herself. Even at church, we are down to a fruit snack, scriptures, and a notebook with a pen. Lets be honest thought, Kelsey deserves all the credit. She is so awesome. And for the sake of being honest lets give a shout out to everyone around us who just smiled at my girls, talked them, picked up lose toys, and just tolerated Kelsey kicking their chair (I really was trying). Also a small shout out to the apple core that entertained Madison from Salt Lake to Phoenix.

Most of Utah was spent visiting the Wings, but we did get to see the Nelson side for a brief time at the Cougar Run. It sort of has randomly turned into a tradition.

Hailey and Whitley both won their races and did so super fast. I couldn't have stayed with Hailey if I wanted to. 

Ethan and I have not been as diligent with our running and the altitude made it much harder than its been in the past, but I still slipped in a third place with a 22:30. Not my best, but I don't think I can really complain when I only run like once a week. I would love to get back in shape though. This race killed me! 

We were really sad to miss the Snelsons this year, but it was so fun to see everyone else.

 

And then there was Kelsey's race. 

Lets get a little back story shall we. 

Ethan and I left Bountiful an hour and a half before the race started. We kept seeing signs on the freeway reading " Major Delays. Take Alt Route." We thought they were left from the night before or something because it was only 7:15 in the morning. There is no way those signs could be for us. 

Wrong! They were for us. We got to Scheels and traffic completely stopped. It was terrible. Apparently they are doing construction at the point of the mountain. Luckily Shara texted us so we were able to get off the freeway and go around the bad spots at IKEA, but by this point we were already 45 minutes behind schedule. 

Ethan pulled up to the track at 8:43, I grabbed Kelsey, and we sprinted across the field to the starting line. She didn't have time to say hi to friends, she didn't' have time to run around, and she didn't have time to put on her shirt. Plus she was seeing Norah and Ralphie for the first time in like 6 months so she got shy. Poor girl. As soon as they shot the gun, she started crying.  Under different circumstances, I know she would have had fun because every day since the race she plays "race" and runs around our kitchen and then gives herself a medal. Excuse me an amulet :) 

Regardless, we had a lot of fun and there was much laughter after her race.

You can tell how nervous she is in this picture. Not as nervous as the girl next to her, 772, true, but nervous all the same.

The Johnsons were at the race.  I miss this family.

Thanks for all the photos Ethan

Some people were much happier with their performances than others

I know right?!

Before we headed back to Bountiful we had a picnic with the Nellys up the Caynon. When I told Kelsey we were going to a park she goes " A park?! Its not too hot!!!"  Cute girl all messed up on her seasons. Utah did not disappoint with beautiful fall weather. I miss fall.

Dear Madison, you were asleep. Sorry we didn't wake you. Hopefully someday when you have children you will understand

The rest of the weekend was dedicated to baby Hayes and Wing family fun. Best weekend we have had in a long time.

I think I saw Kelsey once all weekend. Between Hannah and Emily and Holden and Harper and everyone else, Kelsey was occupied non stop for three straight days.

Okay Ill say it. My babies are so cute!

 

These girls were inseparable. It was adorable. 

 

 

The day that we left Kelsey came into the room while I was packing:

Mom, what are you doing?

Its time to go home Kels. I'm packing our suitcases.

Oh mom. Please let me stay with Harper

   (The kicker was that she said this through genuine tears. It tore my heart plain out)

Just a little bit of Rock Band and "I am a Tiger." (Eye of the tiger but who cares about lyrics right?)

We tried to get a good cousin picture and this is the best that we got

And then the other 75 looked something like this...

This was a little better. A little :)

Our attempts at family pictures. This is great except Ethan's halo

On Sunday we celebrated the October birthdays and no Wing party is complete without the Candy Bar game. I feel like I got Holden back for last year so all is right in the world. Does it matter that he is 6. No it does not.

Could you be cuter?! I think I love this picture because she is in the middle of climbing and exploring. She is so adventurous and just so happy. I hope to be like Kelsey someday when I grow up.

It was sad to leave, but Ethan had already left (on the 4 am flight) so it was exciting to see the lights of Phoenix and know that he was on the other end.

 

We were quite the show...

I forgot it was October

I've been told its fall. I mean I guess that makes sense because its October 1st, but its still 105 outside. I guess we don't get fall here.

To be totally honest I don't really care but I am sick of wearing my summer clothes. They are so tired. Its time for a change in the wardrobe but I guess that doesn't happen here. Oh the things we are learning. 

September was awesome.

Ethan turned 29 and football started again. 

Kelsey started school and plays with Jordyn and Kathryn EVERY DAY

Madison learned to crawl, nap, stand, scale, and eat solid foods comfortably

Cami finally hung up pictures in the house, painted a dresser, and made a skirt that accidentally fits a 12 year old but a skirt none the less

Arizona was hot.

This phone is my nemesis right now. The girls fight over it ALL. THE.TIME! If Madi has it, Kelsey wants it. If Kelsey has it Madi wants it. Kelsey drags it around and teases Madison and I swear that Madison knows she is teasing because when Madison has it she looks at Kels and smiles.
Every now and then when Kelsey is gone or when Madison is asleep, each girls gets time by herself with the phone. You would think its Christmas when that happens.

Not much to say other than Kelsey sprayed her with the hose. I mean we were outside running through the sprinklers but still. Luckily Madison LOVES the water and tried to eat the sprinkler afterwards anyway, but still :)

Happy Birthday!!!

By the end of September we were able to go outside and play in the mornings. Our house faces East and West so in the mornings our front yard is totally shaded and about 10 degrees cooler than the back. The mornings have also started getting so much cooler. We even saw 75 once! Pretty much every morning from the time Ethan leaves until about 9 we play with the girls, ride bikes, visit with the neighbors, and play chalk.

We took Kelsey so a little amusement park in Encanto AZ and she had a blast. I just love how grown up she looks in this picture.

Kelsey and I went to IKEA one Saturday while Madi was sleeping and I lost her. I was looking around and I found her in this "library" "reading." It was so adorable. (We talked about running away from mom after it was cute)

BYU had another incredible game vs Boise State. The girls were asleep so Ethan couldn't celebrate as much as he wanted too, but that didn't stop him from being as happy.

I mean...

Madison loves to stand up! This is how she greets us when she wakes up. We really need to lower her crib.

 

She also figured out stairs but only one time. She climbed up one, sat down and fell over. So actually no, she can't do stairs. 

 

 Shopping with mom

Kelsey was trying to be helpful and put her water bottle on the counter. She chose to put it on the tallest counter and when she tipped it, to put it down, she poured it all over her face. It took her a minute to realize what she was doing wrong. It was so funny to watch her process the whole thing.

Ethan rode a bull

Kelsey and I went to the Children's Museum

Killing time at the park

We were in Gilbert and decided to stop at the temple. By the time we got there Kelsey and Madison were both asleep. Since we were on our way home we didn't wake them, but my goodness it was beautiful and HUGE!!!!

We are not potty trained. I don't really want to talk about it, but in September we did have one successful potty attempt. We tried to bribe her to continue this habit but it didn't work. However, we had a win and we will take what we can get.

Scorpions under black light (we now scan the girls rooms at night. It gives me peace of mind)

I made a skirt! It fits a 12 year old, but its a skirt!

Kelsey is obsessed with making "houses" lately. She builds herself into a complete semi-circle with anything that she can find. Once inside her circle she will read, or cook, or feed babies, or work on her computer, or work at her office, or call people on her phones, or whatever, but she will only do these things if she is circle with toys. It would be cute, but she gets very territorial about anything in and around her house. She always builds these houses on the floor in little sisters reach and so it has presented us with MANY learning opportunities about sharing and playing with babies that now can crawl.

But we still love this face so much!

Ethan recently attended an Eagle Court of Honor. "Do you think any one will notice that I haven't gotten a new shirt since I was 12?"

I can not express enough how much this girl loves water!

Its exhausting being awesome

 Kelsey grabbed my phone while I was doing something and then proclaimed, "Mom! I took a picture of baby Belle." I don't know why this cracks me up as much as it does.

Sometimes BYU plays really really REALLY bad. So bad in fact that they don't score and we have to turn the game off. I'm not even mocking him. It was a sad game.

I learned how to trim a palm tree. The thorns were brutal but it was a lot of fun.

 

This is how I do sit ups now. Its way more fun

And there you have it. September.

October 1

Its October 1st 2015 and I haven't blogged in about a month. I am having a real hard time deciding how/if I want to keep blogging. Its been hard because there are so many ways to journal your pictures now a days that I am noticing the same pictures over and over. I love my kids and think they are awesome, but having the same pictures in 4 different spots might be a little excessive. So I write this to my future kids:

Before you judge me and think that Kelsey has way more post than you do, please stop and take a few things into consideration:

 

1.Yes. She does. When you have your first baby you too will understand.

2. Its not out of more love for her, its out of mom's availability and laziness levels. They ebb and flow: also something you will learn as you get older. I was baby 5 and still felt very loved so we can talk in person if you are still bothered.  

3. Learn this lesson sooner than I did in life: things change and change is okay. Its okay to not do the same thing every year for Christmas and its okay to not do the same thing for all your kids. The sooner you learn to change and adapt the sooner you will just learn to love everything about life. Change is hard, but it is going to happen. Learn to deal with it positively and know that just because you might have lasagna instead of turkey for Christmas dinner, that doesn't mean that Christmas is cancelled. It might just mean that clean up will be easier giving you more time to watch Muppets!!!! 

4. That being said, I love our family journal and hope to find a happy medium between living our lives and writing about living our lives. While I do that bear with me and know that I love you all so much! You are my world!!! Please know that! 

Mobile

This post is about 4 weeks over due, but yes its true. Madison can crawl! 

How this happened is beside me. I tried putting her in dresses to slow her down and tried to push her over, but much to my dismay she can now crawl. She is still really slow which is hilarious, but she gets there. She just wants to be where everyone is and much to KELSEY's dismay that typically means around Kelsey's toys. We thought we knew how to share but we are quickly learning that we didn't actually know a thing in the category.

"Kelsey. Why is Madison in the hall?"
"Oh. Well she was getting my stuff so I slided her away."

Before she figured it out, Madison would put her feet on the ground and stick her butt in the air and just stand there. It always freaked us out because if she slipped she would fall on her face, but luckily that never happened. She also would stick her bum in the air and then put her face down and scoot her face on the ground. I never caught this on camera but it was hilarious. And then she did the typical things like drag one leg, rock on her bum, rock back and forth, etc. But alas she does it and does it right now. Its only a matter of time before she gets really fast.

My favorite thing about her crawling is that when she is in a hurry she starts panting and laughing. Its so cute! I also love listening to her practice. Sometimes Kelsey and I will go into Kelsey's room and Madison will be in the front room and we call for her, and then we can hear her come. It takes a while but she gets there. Its actually less mean than it sounds!

For the most part Madison can get where she needs to be, but sometimes she tackles obstacles that are just a little too big and she gets stuck. I wish I would have filmed this instead of taken a picture. It was so funny. 

 I love when babies crawl and put things in their mouth. They are so cute!

Now that we can move we HATE being confined. We have since packed up the exersaucer.