broken leg

Do you remember how much fun my kids were having on the trampoline those days that the sun was shining?

these days

Trampolines are bad!!!

Never let your kids jump on a trampoline again.

(um, don't look, Kacin is out on ours right now as I type this)

Trampolines break legs.

The boys got home from play practice at 6:15pm on Thursday night. They were supposed to be leaving for cub scouts at 6:45pm. We have had so much going on lately and the performance was the next day, I decided it would be best to skip scouts so we didn't have to rush dinner, we could have some down time as a family, and everyone could get to bed early. After dinner, I let the kids outside to play and jump on the trampoline. Around 7:30, Layla jumped and landed weird (my best guess--possibly someone fell on her too). When I got crying L off the trampoline, I could just tell something was wrong. This was not her normal cry. She couldn't crawl to me so I lifted her off the tramp and went inside to check her out. Nothing looked or felt broken. We put ice on her leg. She wouldn't straighten her leg and the toes on her left foot were crossed over in a weird position. I thought at first she couldn't move her toes, but eventually she wiggled them. I called Eric right away who (luckily!) was on his way home from work. I told him I thought Layla's leg was broken so not to go run that errand I needed him to do and just come home. He was home around 7:45pm and I told him Layla needed to go to the Dr. He doubted me, but when he saw she couldn't stand he agreed. He jumped in the car. One walk-in clinic (with only a PA on duty who said she couldn't help--even though I called and checked the website first but ok, thanks for wasting an hour for us)  and one Seattle hospital later, it was confirmed we had one broken legged girl.

My poor girl.

It is a small break just below her knee.

We are hopeful it will just take a few weeks to heal. We go to the orthopedist tomorrow to get the hard cast on and find out more.

This girl has gotten lots of love since her break--phone calls, a coloring book in the mail from her aunt, at her request "barbie" cupcakes, and a balloon and a gift from wonderful Sundi.

I can't help but laugh--of course this broken leg happened 

just when I thought my life couldn't get crazier. 

We get a little more spice in our life. :)

Things like this always remind me to slow down a bit and remember what's most important (my people).

our trip day 5, the rest of the day

After our sealing and lunch and saying goodbye to some of our family, we headed back to our hotel. 

I had big plans to organize all of our suitcases and our stuff, 

and maybe spend some time at the pool. 

My sweet sisters had other plans for me and Jacqui.

They forced us into the car and wouldn't tell us where we were going. Feeling scared!

I was still scared when I saw what we were doing--pedicures. The second one of my life. 

Do you know how ticklish I am??

I had to concentrate really hard and breath deeply when she scrubbed my feet so I wouldn't kick her in the head, but, other than those few moments, it was nice to relax and be pampered a bit all while spending time with my three sisters.

Mickey toes!

These Days

Perry asked to hold Layla's hand while we walked him out to the bus one day. It was the sweetest thing. As soon as I pulled out my phone to take a picture, Layla pulled away.

It is amazing how much easier it is to keep your house clean when you have less stuff. Since Christmas I've been in the mood to declutter, declutter. We've made a stop at the goodwill donation drop off almost every week. Not to mention the toys/trinkets/trash that have been dropped into the trash. The more stuff we get out of our house, the better I feel. And the better our rooms look. Sometimes it's hard to let go of things. I put things into a bag and then let them sit in the garage for a week or two and if we don't notice/don't miss them being gone, we let it go (no one has even missed a thing I've bagged up.)

Perry has begun ABA therapy. We go three days a week for two hour long sessions. The first week was so rough. After two days we had gone through one column out of three of the preference assessment. He spent the majority of the time screaming, spitting, throwing things, and hitting, and occasionally calming down in my arms until they tried to get him to work again. Week two is better than one. The therapist took a step back from the original plan and so he is working into it all slowly. As hard as it is right now, we know this will be good for him in the long run.

E has been really busy at work the last few weeks. Late nights for him mean dinners by myself with the kids. By dinnertime, I am often oh so tired to begin with. And meal times are hardly easy right now. So I've been relying on music to recharge, help everyone calm down, and bring in some fun. We pulled out a CD player and some of our old CD's to listen to (oldies, Jimmy Eat World, Nat King Cole, the mix CD) while we clean up dinner and then dance to when we are done. We take turns choosing which CD to play. Kacin says he loves rock music.

There was real sunshine yesterday and it was still light outside at 6:30pm! So we headed out back to play until E got home.

The boys performance of Alice in Wonderland is this weekend. They have had play practices nearly every day the last few weeks. We are looking forward to the show!

our trip day 5, our sealing

The most important reason for taking our trip was to have family with us when Layla and Perry would be sealed to us for time and all eternity in the Temple--a house of the Lord. On February 18 we got to do just that. It was a beautiful day at the Newport Beach Temple.

I can't even put into words how peaceful and happy one feels gathered with family in a temple of God. To have all four of my children with us in the sealing room, two of them dressed all in white, like Eric and I, for the ceremony, was a beautiful experience that I don't think I will ever forget!

The sealing ceremony is pretty short, but I had no idea how Perry and Layla would act. I remembered 3-year-old Kacin, after he was sealed to us, climbing up onto the alter and jumping off before we could grab him, so I was a bit nervous as to how it would go. :) I had no need to be because Layla and Perry were both so calm in the sealing room. When it was time, the children came right up and placed their hands on our hands as we knelt at the alter. After those beautiful words were spoken to seal Layla and Perry to us, we were able to gather all of our children into hugs. I felt such joy and such love for each of these sweet kids and a wonderful husband to call my forever family.

We were so grateful to have some of our family there with us.

I just love candid shots of getting ready for the big smiles. :)

I am apparently signing to one of my kids to stop doing whatever crazy thing they are doing, so no matter how ridiculous I look, I have to post the only picture my dad made it into. He's pretty important.

We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory right after the sealing.

It was a perfect morning for our family.

More about temples here.

bowling

Guess who beat Eric bowling on our date night over the weekend? ;)

F for Faye (me)!

 all because of the lucky ball I used

I made everyone play Wacky Bowl, too.

Which taught us that some people bowl better with their eyes closed and under their legs than others.

First the Chick

It's time for more chickens!

Picking out new chicks was a much anticipated event.

Each of the kids picked one out so we came home with four baby chicks in a box.

We got them settled in their box in the garage.

These three love to check on them in the mornings and give them some snuggles. 

Our current chickens are slowing down on their egg production so we will be really glad in a few months (up to 6 months) when these guys start laying their eggs.

One of our new chicks is an Ameraucana and will lay blue eggs!