Jarrett's 8 !!!!

I can't believe our Jarrett is 8 years old today. As I have looked back this morning to the day he was born until now I feel blessed to have him as my boy. He was so perfect the minute he entered this world. I will be the first to admit that he was not easy as a baby, but who knows if that was him or me being a first time mom. A lot of things that haven't changed is that his socks still drive him crazy if they don't fit him just right along with his pants, he hates his hands dirty, he loves his uncle Daniel and Cameron, his big heart, and his contagious laugh. Jarrett is one of the most tender hearted souls I have ever been around. He is always worrying about others and their feelings. He is such a big helper to me with his younger siblings. He loves to skateboard, wrestling with his daddy, Isabelle, and McGregor, riding his bike, swimming, and he can't wait for football to start this fall. What to say, but that I love him so much and I feel so privileged to be his mommy. Thanks Jarrett for the last eight years and all the memories. You make everyday better with your smile, laugh, and your loves. I love you!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Kindergarten Graduation!!

Well today our Isabellee graduated from kindergarten. It's hard to believe that this school year is almost over. And the answer is yes to your question, "Did mommy cry?". We will blame that on life right now and being pregnant. The program was really cute. They sang about seven songs and then they got to walk up and get a hat and their diploma. Isabelle was so cute and she knew her songs so well. She is pretty sad that she doesn't get to keep Mrs. Bowcutt and Jeriann for her teachers next year. They have done a wonderful job and Isabelle loves them. We will get her excited for her new teachers next year. We figured out today that Isabelle will be in the graduating class of 2021!! Yikes!! The next scary thought is Jarrett will be in the class of 2019, that is only 10 years from now. We all know how time flies. Kind of scary for mommy.

Happy Birthday!!

Our May has been crazy!! But thankfully we get to slow down today and celebrate Ben. Thirty-two years ago today the world was made a better place because Benjamin C was born. I wish I could find some good pictures from when he was younger to post, maybe later. Anyway I wanted everyone to know it was his special day today. If you read this Ben have a great day and know that I love you and I am glad I get to be here to celebrate with you. I just want you to know that I am thankful for you and I know that life has its ups and downs, but I am glad I get to share my life with you. Happy Birthday!!

Wicked

Yes, I went to see the Broadway show Wicked last night. My mom got all of us girls tickets for Christmas and we have been patiently waiting for 4 months for this night to come. I have never been to anything like that before and to tell you the truth I wasn't to excited. We went and ate at the Lion House Pantry and then headed to the Capital Theatre. We got to our seats and started to hear rumors that the Prophet and his wife were at the show. So we started looking around and right below us sat President Monson and his wife, then we started looking down the row and there was President Uchtdorf. Pretty cool to see them there and to see them that close. I didn't know exactly what it was going to be like, for one thing I hate The Wizard of Oz. This show is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the good witch. It was an amazing show. These people could sing. I have never heard such beautiful and powerful voices. My favorite was the Wicked Witch of the West, her voice was amazing. The story was so good and you could learn a lot from it. The Wicked Witch wasn't really wicked, she was trying to do good and so many people misunderstood her. It was a great evening and I would love to go to another show again sometime. If anybody has the opportunity to go and see Wicked I would highly recommend seeing it.

20 Week Ultrasound!

Well we are half way through this pregnancy and today we found out what our new addition will be. When I found out I was first pregnant we were a little shocked to say the least. We were not planning on a new addition to our family just yet, but Heavenly Father decided it was time. I was really sick with this baby at the first and Ben kept telling me he kept getting this thought in his head that it might be twins. I told him to Shut up!!! Usually with Ben he is right on the money with our kids. He knew Jarrett was a boy right away even when the doctor wasn't 100% sure, he was right about Isabelle too. We didn't find out the sex of McGregor early and the weird thing with McGregor was that a couple of months before he was born Ben came home and told me we needed to find a name that would fit a blonde haired, blue eyed little boy. I thought he was joking, but when McGregor was born we had a blonde hair, blue eyed little boy. I was a little afraid to say the least about the whole twin prediction, but when I went to my first appointment my doctor put my fears to rest when he did an ultrasound and there was just one baby. Because I have been so sick this time everybody was sure we were having a girl and Ben had one of his predictions that it was a little girl and would be a lot like Isabelle(heaven help us if that were true. I think the world can only handle one Isabelle). So we went to our appointment today and before they even told me the sex I knew that we were going to have.......................another little boy. It looks like poor Isabelle will be the only girl of our family, unless things change. We are definitely excited and will love this little guy. He is going to get so much love from his older siblings he won't know what to do with it all. I am definitely a little nervous to tell Isabelle, but I will blame it all on Ben and it will be all good. Now on to names, we had quite a few girl names, but we have a tough time thinking of boy names. It took us until the day McGregor was born to finally decide that was the name for him. So if any of you have any good boy names, we tend to like last names for their first names, let us know. So come end of August first of September we will have another boy to add to our family. They said everything looked great with the ultrasound and he is already a mover. I don't remember any of my other babies moving so much this early. Let's just pray he is a good sleeper and mellow!!!

Spring Break

We wanted to go and do something fun for the kid's spring break, so we headed to Vegas. We left on Wednesday and came home Sunday. Our kids did so awesome driving down and back and they were little troopers down there. You forget all the walking you have to do. We had a lot of fun, but we did find out the hard way that Vegas is no longer a place for children. On Thursday we took them to M&M World ( I think everyone in Vegas was there) and then we took them swimming. It was so nice to lay by the pool and get hot!! The kids loved the pool. On Friday we took them up to see the temple and did a little exploring. Ben has applied for a lot of jobs down there so we were seeing if it is a place we could live. We decided Vegas is most likely out, but we could definitely live in Henderson. Ben found a Tony Roma's, one of his favorite places to eat that doesn't exist in Utah anymore. That was a highlight. We also took the kids the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay. It was fun to walk through tunnels that had fish and sharks swimming all around you. Thursday night we wanted to take the kids, especially Jarrett to see the pirate show in front of Treasure Island. Well they have changed the show to say the least. One ship is full of almost naked women who dance very suggestively and then the other ship is full of men. The women sink the men's ship by doing a dance. I was horrified to be a mother of a 7 year old and sit there and watch this. He told me later he didn't like the women's ship, he hated the way they danced in their swim-n-suits (THANK GOODNESS!!!). Saturday we got up and walked over to New York-New-York and walked through their shops and got some ice cream. McGregor kept telling us he wanted to ride the roller coaster and was very mad when we told him he had to get bigger. Jodi drove down and met us in Vegas for the day and I have to say it was our best day down there. We ate some lunch and went over to the Mirage to see the dolphins, white tigers, and lions. We loved watching the dolphins. I think Isabelle would love to be a dolphin. I have never seen a more gorgeous lion than the one we saw there. Jodi and I decided they must brush and blow dry his mane daily. There was also a white tiger that I just sat there and watched he was so majestic. It was a really great exhibit. They also had baby dolphins and a baby leopard. We then went back and let the kids swim for about an hour. Jodi stayed with us until after dinner and then she headed back north. Thank you for coming down and sharing our vacation, we had a great day with you there!!!! After we dropped her off we went to see the water show at the Bellagio. I love the water show and so did Jarrett and Isabelle. It did scare McGregor. The Easter Bunny visited us in the night and when we got up the kids searched the room for their baskets and they played while Ben and I got everything ready to go. It was a good trip and we are glad we went somewhere warm. Some of the highlights for me was watching the kids and Ben in the pool, the Mirage, and just having the kids and Ben with me for 5 days with no school or work. I think we have the best and cutest kids in the world and they are the best little travelers. Ben is the best dad in the world and loves to play and be with his kids. There were definitely some negatives about Las Vegas, but we had a lot of fun just being together.

A New Baby!!!

I am excited to say that I am a new aunt again. My sister Susie just had my new little nephew Hunter Clark. She is a trekker. He is two days over due and she delivered him cesarean. I have just heard about him from my mom and sister and seen pictures. He is already precious to me. He is 8 lbs. 10 oz. and I have heard has a little bit of hair. I can't wait to go and see him tonight. Having a baby is an amazing experience and I know that Susie and Travis will be awesome parents. We are also waiting to hear word on Ben's stepsister who is also having a baby today. So we gain a new little boy and a new little girl. What an exciting day.
Part two: We went and saw little Hunter Kurtis Clark and he is perfect. I am mad because I forgot my camera, but he has the most perfect round face with the cutest little mouth. He has Susie's eyes and just stared at me when I held him. We bonded and I can't wait to see him again. I think I might just sneak over there tonight again. Susie is doing well considering all she went through yesterday. She is a little sick from the anesthesia, but other than that I think she is elated to have her baby finally here. As for Ben's stepsister when we left the hospital last night at 8:00 p.m. she still hadn't had her baby and we haven't heard anything. I love new babies they make your world a lot better!!