Arizona

We had lots of fun on our family vacation to Arizona last weekend. The same airline that has cheap flights, just added a new destination- Mesa! We were excited to get out in the sun. Kent found a great resort that had a golf course and water park on site. Our room couldn't have been located more perfectly with our patio walking right out to the water park and the front door opening up to the courtyard pool. Ethan and Kent woke up early to do some golfing then we all went and enjoyed the weather poolside.

This picture I love. I can't tell if Ella is pointing at Ethan as if she is embarrassed to be with him, or if she giving me the "cut it" sign to stop taking her picture.

Now that he put his goggles up, Ella is okay to accept him as her brother.

If Cannon isn't sleeping- he wants to be.

Maybe we should've given Ella a spray tan too..?

The kids took a break from the water to play on our iphones. Hmmm...

My old roommate, Rhonda, (she's also a close friend of the Copeland family) lives in Arizona. We were so happy that she took time to come hang out with us while we were there. She made the weekend so much fun. At first, our little Ella wasn't sure what to think of this person crashing our family vacation. Rhonda bought Ethan and Ella some ice cream to try and win them over. Ethan was hooked right away, but as the pictures will show, it took Ella a little convincing...

...and that is the smile that changed the weekend. Ella had let Rhonda in. Rhonda had no idea what she was in for as Ella's new bestie.

Once Ella realized how fun it can be to be friends with people, she introduced herself to a little girl at the pool and had some good fun playing with her. Ella is quite smart, she found a girl that was older than her and would throw the toys in the water to make her new friend dive for them. Luckily the girl thought that was pretty fun.
Ethan was happy that Rhonda was there to throw the football with him. Kent was happy too because he was able to lay out and relax while Rhonda did all the work :)

After Rhonda got to know Ethan better and saw how much he LOVES sports and football, she gave him this signed BYU ball from the bowl game. Thank you, Rhonda!

Rhonda's friend told her about a fun place to go with kids. We are so thankful for the recommendation because we all had a blast! First of all, you have to wear socks, but we were all in flip-flops so we had to buy socks. Love it! This place has massive tunnels and bridges that lead to places that leave you wondering which way is up. Rhonda sat with Cannon for a bit while Kent and I tried to keep up with the kids. I never have felt so old. I have the bruised knees and scabby elbows to prove it. Kent and I looked ridiculous but had a great time laughing until it hurt. I loved it when Kent's back button got stuck on the net and he couldn't get through, creating a traffic jam of kids wondering what was going on.

Then Kent sat with Cannon while I went AGAIN with Rhonda and the kids. It was just as hilarious the second time, but my elbows were not happy with me.
We had fun eating at Benihana's. Ella didn't care for the food, but had was very entertained with the exciting show.

Lots of yummy food on our trip.

Yummmm!

Breakfast at the Waffle House. That is an experience in and of itself.

Breakfast at Mimi's. Rhonda was so great to let the kids hang on her, talk her ears off, sit in the backseat of the mini-van rental, sing Barbie songs with them, splash in the pool with them, and overall love them.

Even though the kids were SUPER excited and hyper, we had a wonderful family vacation with our little family of five. We are glad that Rhonda spent so much time with us, it wouldn't have been the same without her. We are looking forward to flying her up here to babysit our kids so we can go on a weekend get-away without them.

Blast from the past

The Whittle's came to Yakima this week to visit family for their spring break. They were nice enough to make time to come to Sunnyside to meet up with us while they were here. Since they moved from Sunnyside, we have surely missed them. Cameron and Ethan were such good friends when they lived here and this weekend they were able to pick up right where they left off. We had the pleasure of Cameron over for a sleepover. Ethan was so excited that Cameron was able to come to his basketball game. Every time Ethan made a shot, he would look over and make sure Cameron saw him. Saturday night, we had a girl's night out with a group of us that used to get together regularly. I am so happy to reconnect with all of these wonderful women that I respect and admire so much. We had a great time catching up and being together. On Sunday, the Whittle's took time to join us for dinner after church. It was a joy to have a full home of people we love. I am sad that the Whittle's no longer live here, but thankful they have family nearby that gives them a good excuse to come back to visit every so often. I know Brooke and I are good friends when I can invite her family over for dinner and when she asks me what she can do to help, I tell her to make the french bread! I think she was planning on putting napkins on the table to putting ice in the glasses, but she was a good sport and the bread was delish!
Ella and Audrey were in heaven playing dress-ups, barbies and tea party.

When it comes to brownie batter, these two girls are just like their mothers. Slow down! Ella? Are you serious?

The boys were having a great time playing basketball, inside and outside, and making mud cities. I remember when these boys used to play in the mud, I would get so frustrated at Ethan for ruining all of his good shoes. Today I didn't care about that for a second. I was so happy to see these adorable boys outside having the time of their lives getting as muddy as they can.

Bishop Ricks (he was the bishop when the Whittle's lived here) also joined us for dinner since his wife is out of town visiting family. I have to make note of how wonderful Bishop Ricks is. The first Sunday after I had Cannon, Bishop Ricks came up to me and scooped up Cannon and took him to class with him so I could have my hands free to worry about Primary. At the first break in primary I went to check on him to see how he was doing with the baby. There the Bishop was, teaching his lesson while holding little Cannon in his arms. The Bishop insisted that he wasn't ready to give Cannon back yet. I am so thankful for this sweet man and all the kindness he and his wife give to our little family. I wanted to include this picture so that I will never forget how lucky we are to have people in our lives, family or not, that love us and support us.

Big Sister

Ella has been the BEST big sister. She loves to kiss Cannon, hold Cannon, kiss Cannon, give Cannon his binky, kiss Cannon, sit next to Cannon in the car, kiss Cannon, sing to Cannon, talk to Cannon, kiss Cannon, hug Cannon and tell everyone about her baby brother Cannon. To my surprise, Cannon actually calms down when she is around. I have to tell you that Ella puckers up those lips from across the room and lets them lead her way to Cannon's head. The other day, Kent and I saw some black dots on Cannon's head and a couple on his face. We could not figure out these little dots. Then Ella came in the room with Oreo cookie crumbs all over her lips- mystery solved. How would you like to see these "lickers" as Ella calls them, coming at you 100 times a day?

Cannon Boy

I've been waiting to take pictures of Cannon until his newborn skin stopped peeling, until he was a little more alert so I could get a good shot of his eyes, until he could hold his head up and give me some great tummy poses, and until his wrinkled skin had a little more blubber under it. Then I realized, I do not want to forget all of those little things. I want to see the pictures of flaking skin where eyebrows will soon be. I want to remember the extra wrinkles before he fills out. I love his peaceful spirit that makes him only half open his eyes because he is just waking up from a nap and on his way to his next nap. As the newborn scent fades more each day, these are the little things that tend to be forgotten when the newborn stage is over. I don't want to forget, so here are some pictures with all the little imperfections that make him so perfect.

Welcome, Baby Lilly

Our dear friends, Brent and Erin have a new baby girl!
Lilly Brin Martin was born on March 20th
As you can see, she is the prettiest little baby.
To read her touching story through her mother's eyes, go to Erin's blog.

I just want to put some of my thoughts out there, saying how happy I am that this little girl is here. Erin and I grew so close as we were pregnant together, being due just weeks apart. We went maternity shopping together, had heartburn together, suffered through Braxton Hicks together, felt each other's bellies when our babies were kicking, we even had doctor appointments together! While I was on bed rest with a blood clot, she was on bed rest with morning sickness. During our pregnancies, we both faced the possibility of our babies being born with a genetic disorder. I am thankful for the strength we were able to draw from each other, knowing that someone else felt the same feelings we had felt. Our labor and delivery stories were similar in the fact that we both delivered early, having contractions for a couple days prior to labor, going into the hospital around the same time of day, delivering a few quiet hours later, only 20 days apart from each other. I feel privileged to have had that experience with Erin. She has become as close as a sister to me and I love her so much. I know that we faced some of the same situations so that we could lean on each other and strengthen our friendship. As beautiful Lilly has now entered the world, I am full of amazement as I watch Brent and Erin's faith and love. They are truly wonderful people, full of love and patience. I am honored to be friends with them. I look forward to watching them with Lilly and getting to be a part of their lives. Welcome to the world precious angel, we love you!

Squishy Face

We just love our little wrinkled baby.

Brotherly Love

This picture makes my heart swell.

Jesus Christ Lives

I want to bare my testimony that I know Jesus Christ lives. I know that he suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for each and every one of us before being crucified on the cross to atone for our sins. I know that he was resurrected three days later, conquering death. I know that if I follow His example and teachings that I will have eternal life. I am thankful for the blessings of the Atonement and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you find yourself with an extra 2 minutes to spare, please click on this video below to watch this short clip (click on it again to make it full screen).

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny brought suitcases for Ethan and Ella because we have some fun trips planned and the Easter Bunny knew that the kids would help lug around their own stuff if they had something fun to pull it in.
The hunt is on! Their faces are a little blurred, but I still had to post this one. These facial expressions explain each of their personalities perfectly. Look close at Ella - click on the picture if you have to - she's out to kill! Ethan is just happy and excited to be there. I just love these kids.
We are enjoying the creativity Ella shows by choosing her own clothes. If she's not being a princess, then she is being a rock star- and rock stars don't have to match.

Ethan skips the egg out in the open to go for the harder egg. It's interesting that an egg hunt shows so much of one's personality.