Conrad's Sixth Birthday

Conrad turned six on April 3.  It was a fun day.  Conrad is always talking about his birthday year round and I am always anxious to make sure it is a great day for him.  This year was no different.  But, at the end of the day he said this was the best birthday ever. Whew, I passed...

We went to Leo’s Place for dinner and Conrad brought his best friend Jerico along.  Nobody could celebrate with us on his birthday because it was Tuesday and they had to be to mutual.  So we ended up having grandma and grandpa over to celebrate when they could come.

So excited!!!

 Typical Jack...

 The rest of the gang...

 I think they liked that one!

 Here's what he got...

 I'm six!

Conrad’s favorite things

Green Lantern

His family, especially his Dad and Jack

Fishing

Camping

Kindergarten

His Friends

Being read to

Riding his bike around the neighborhood

Things we love about Conrad

The way he watches over his brothers and sister

He loves to laugh

He’s great at remembering information

He’s observant

He pays close attention to detail

He loves his family

He is a great helper around the house and very good at cleaning his room

He is a great example

Nine Years! Wow they've flown by!

 

We have now been married for nine years!!!  It has been a wonderful nine years and I can’t wait to see what else life will bring.

We celebrated our anniversary back in February when one of my favorite music groups, The Fray, went to Boise.  We had a really great time at the concert.  It was fun to see a group that I really liked and knew.  Any other concert we’d ever been too I didn’t really know the group.  We also went to Dinner with Bo’s dad (Earle), Carley and Myles at P.F. Changes.  I love that place!  It also has an awesome gluten free menu and nobody can tell it’s gluten free.  

Sorry these pictures are REALLY bad.  But better than nothing.

Hailey made our anniversary very special.  It was the first year any of the kids cared it was our special day.  She surprised us and in her bedroom time she cut out hearts and hung then on our walls.  She also made a picture with a nice message on it for us and hung it on our door..  She managed to tape them up without us knowing until we went to bed.  What a sweetheart!  That is one of those parent moments that makes all of the hard parts of parenting worth it.

It says: Happy Anniversary!
Even when my (i have) bad times you two always help me.
I love you Mom and Dad

The Many Bugs at Our House

Everyone except Conrad came back from Vagas with a cold.  Brayden then ended up with an ear infection, Jackson broke out in hives and I ended up with a sinus infection.  So, three Dr. visits in a week for that. 

Then a couple of weeks later Hailey started acting really crazy, very emotional and tired.  A few days later she had a high fever but then it went down to a low grade in the morning.  This happened for about 5 days so I took her to the doc on Tuesday.  The doctor assumed it was mono or something and sent me home to let the virus run it’s course.  But, by Friday she was worse and needing more and more naps so I called the Doctor again and they had me bring her back in and they tested her for a UTI and a quick test for mono.  Both were negative so they sent her for a chest x-ray to see if she had pneumonia.  I thought it was such a waste, but I took her anyway.  Five minutes after we left the doctor called and told me she had silent pneumonia, silent because they can’t hear anything in the lungs when they listen for it.  It can only be seen on an x-ray.  Crazy!  That took about three days for her to get her energy back and start feeling better.  And awhile after to really get back to her normal self.

Most of February and March Conrad had been suffering with terrible allergies which I took him to the Doctor twice for.  But, nothing seemed to help.  About a week after Hailey started feeling better, he had an asthma attack and we were back at the doctor.  Poor kid.  He was miserable.  I didn’t realize how bad they feel when that happens.  He took about two days to recover.  He was on nebulizer treatments for two days and a steroid for five.  He now has an inhaler for future problems.  

Having all that really makes you appreciate when everyone is healthy and feeling well.  Although I know this doesn't compare to others with sick children. 

Vegas

The week after we saw Mitt Bo had to go to Las Vegas for work.  He wasn’t sure if anyone from work could make it, so we were invited.  Then he found out Kris (his partner) was going to be able to make it too.  So, our families met in Las Vegas. 

The drive there was pretty good but when we were about an hour away the wind came.  It was blowing so hard that semis and motorbikes were pulled over because they couldn’t drive through it.  We were a bit nervous driving through.  When we got to our hotel, they told us they has lost two doors that day. 

We had a lot of fun but it was a quick trip.  We were only in Vegas a couple of days.  We couldn’t just walk around either because the wind never stopped blowing.  Kendra (Kris’s wife) and I went to Circus Circus with the kids and they went on a ride while we were there.  I don't know how many strange looks we got from people.  Her and I with 7 kids ages 7 and under.  They loved looking at the buildings and liked the M&M factory.  Excalibur was their favorite.

 

My favorite quote from the kids when we got there was, “Wow!  This place is better than Disneyland!” 

We also walked through MGM and ate at the Rain Tree Café.  The kids loved it.  

We packed up and stayed the night in St George.  We went to the temple visitors center and saw the temple.  I love that temple.  It is georgeous.  One interesting fact we learned at the visitor’s center was that they get more people to join the church from France who visit that temple (from bus tours) than from the missionaries actually serving in France.  Crazy!

Then we spent the weekend at Dustin’s house, where Brooke came and visited and the kids all played and we got a sitter and went to P.F. Changs.  It was a really fun week!

Romney Visits Skyline High

Early March Bo and I had the chance to see Mitt Romney at Skyline High School. We weren’t sure if we were going to make it in to hear his speech, because when we got the thirty minutes early there was a line that wrapped more than half way around the School and the address he was making was in a smaller auditorium.
We were lucky enough to be led to the gym where Mitt came and addressed us (the second group) again. It was very exciting to be there and be around so many that are as excited as I am to see him in this race. I was lucky enough to get a poster as a keepsake too.

Not trying to be to political. But to show how deceiving the news can be, the national news coverage on Mitt’s visit was said he couldn’t even get enough people to fill up a small auditorium in Idaho Falls, ID. They said there were only about 200 people out to support him. When in fact, there were over 1200 there to see him and not all of them were able to hear his speech.

I do want to say how much I like this candidate. He is a great leader and gives hope for the future of our country. I know he is only human and is not perfect, but he is extremely intelligent and has great ideas. Along with that he has been successful in his other undertakings. I sure hope he is able to beat out Obama this November.

Valentines Day!

Valentines Day should have been posted about. It is one of my favorite Holidays. I know many people think that Valentine’s Day is just about greeting card and candy companies making money and is a waste. But, if we truly take the time to spend the day letting our loved ones know why we love them, it can be such a fulfilling and memorable day. I just love Valentines!!!  I am so grateful to have a happy, healthy family.  I just love them!

This year, I thought it would be fun to let Hailey have a party as she is shy and was having a hard time getting to know the girls in her class. I had a lot of fun getting ready and she had a great time with about eight other girls. The party was fun and the favorite game was playing freeze dance to Taylor Swift songs. The girls were so cute. I was so busy during the party I forgot to take pictures. But, here are the before pics: