Pop Pop, McKenna, Shin Guards, and Crayons

Well, it's been a great week. On Monday we got to go see Zeke. He got moved to a new section of the Hospital, so Addison can visit him now. He is looking very good! It was a great visit. Addison was so happy she finally got to see her pop pop.

The next day McKenna and Rebecca stopped by for a little bit on their way up to salt lake. It was fun seeing them. I can't believe how much McKenna's grown! Don't I have the cutest niece ever!

Addison also discovered some unused swim diapers and loves exploring new ways to use them. She loves wearing them as shin guards. Today as we were getting ready to say prayers she found another one and put both legs through one leg hole. She then got up and was walking with little steps. Bart & I were cracking up.

We also got some crayons for Addison a while ago. Today I was sitting on the ground and she grabbed some and started putting them in my hair....where on earth she got that idea I have no idea!

It TOTALLY reminded me of a fireside at the Bishop's house when I was in high school. One of our friends had a fro at the time. He turned to us, grabbed a little pencil, and put it in his hair. It completely disappeared. We all started putting pencils in his hair. I have no idea how many we got in there, but it was amazing! I know Addison didn't get that many in my hair, but it was funny none the less.

Bugs, Bleeding Hearts, and More

So today has been a great day! It was cool for most of the day, but still warm enough to enjoy the yard. Addison had a lot of fun looking for bugs and just playing in the yard. We got a bunch of cute pictures...

That is a Lady Bug on Bart's Finger.
Now it's on Addison's Shirt. It was really funny, when we first did this, she was pretty thrilled as she looked down and watched it crawl up her shirt, but then as it got closer to her head...and the area where she couldn't see, she got a bit distressed, and whined for dad to take it off her.Now it's on her arm.In this one she's trying to get the rolly polly on the leaf...she was successful, and then I helped her put it back down into the grass.These are just pictures of my sweet girl playing.I love the hair in this one.
Addison has also become more forceful with me lately. If she calls me and I don't come, she'll come over, grab some part of my clothing (usually a pocket or belt buckle) and drag me to where she wants me to go. Since my comfy legally-blonde-pink PJs (don't pretend like you don't want some) didn't have any belt buckles or pockets, she grabbed my sleeve.

Another thing that made my day great was this:

Yes, that is a bleeding heart. Last year while Stacy was here, we planted it and some lilies in one of our flower beds. the lilies grew great, but I was really bummed when the bleeding heart never poped up...especially since they're supposed to be really easy to grow.

Well this year a weird weed started growing in the flower bed. I wanted to pull it, but Bart kept saying "Wait, let's let it grow a little longer and see what it is." I am so glad he refused to let me pull it because I now have my bleeding heart!!! Every day I would drive into our little development and see a beautiful bush full of the pretty pink blossoms and long for my own bleeding heart. And now I have one! YAY!!!

My heart's next desire is a salvia plant...maybe I'll order some more bleeding hearts and put them all in the flower bed in front of the garden...I think the pink and blue would be beautiful together!

Apparently Noah is my Father in Law

So lately I've been showing Addison the pictures from the gospel art kit and reading the stories on the back to her. We got to the Noah pictures earlier this week. Once I was done with the story, I'd point out different things in the pictures and ask Addison, "What's that?"

Well, I got to Noah and asked, "Who's that?" She didn't even hesitate, "Pop pop!" She did the same thing the next day with the other Noah picture. It must be the beard. She loves those stories though because the picture has "Pop pop" on them.

Hot & Tired

Well, the hot weather has finally come. And our air conditioning has gone. It blows air, but it's not cold.

I've been opening our windows in the morning to let all the cool air in, and then closing them in the afternoon in an attempt to keep the hot air out. It works really well until evening comes. Our upstairs just warms up no matter what I do!

On Monday, Addison was just to hot to sleep. We had all our windows open, but it didn't really start cooling down until 10:30, and to make things worse, there were kids playing outside in the street until 11:00!!! These kids couldn't have been more than 10 years old! Where the heck were their parents! Why were they letting them play outside until 11:00 on a school night! Geez! Addison finally fell asleep at about 11:30, and then woke up about every two hours for the rest of the night! It was miserable!!!

Last night was basically a repeat of Monday. We tried putting her in cooler pajamas, but she rapidly took them off...as well as her diaper...and peed all over her pillow. So it was back to the feety pajamas with a diaper pin in the zipper. Oh well. We're supposed to get our air conditioning fixed today, so hopefully tonight will be better.

Zeke Update

So I realized that I haven't given my promised update of Zeke's condition. I think it's because I keep waiting for good news, and it just doesn't seem to come.

The brain tumor is a Glioblastoma Multiforme, which is basically the worst that you can have. And it's right in the middle of the brain, so it's in the worst place too! He's started radiation and adds chemotherapy this week. It's a new procedure that has doubled the survival rate, but even with that only about 25% of people are still alive after two years.

The family is very optimistic though...especially Maralee. She is such a strength to everyone! Her bright attitude just buoys everyone up. I love her so much! She is such an amazing woman! I am so lucky to have her as a mother in law.

Bart & I went and saw Zeke yesterday and today. You can tell that he's tired, but he seems to be in good spirits. Yesterday we took Addison, but he is still in the SICU, so children under 14 aren't allowed. It was really sad. He was less than 20 feet away from her, but she couldn't see him.

While I sat with her out in the waiting room, I showed her pictures of the family I had brought. Whenever we got to Zeke's picture she pointed at him, smiled, and said, "POP!" Keep us in your prayers. We all want Addison's "Pop" To be around for many years to come.

Goodbye Ricks

So this morning I went jogging and ran past the empty ex-house of our friends, the Ricks, and my heart got sad. I remember the first time I met Janae in Relief Society at our Wyview ward. She was in the presidency and was conducting. I think I had to get up and introduce myself because I was new and when I was done she said, "I can tell we're going to be friends." Right there in front of all the relief society! I was a bit taken aback by the comment, but she was right!

We've had BBQs, dinners, done How to Host a Murder, traded babysitting to go to the temple, gone jogging, and stayed up into the late night hours just talking with them. Bart & Sam are very much the creative types, and Janae and I are totally the analytical types. So we all got along so well!!! It was SOOOOOOO fun having them around! We were so excited when we found out they were moving down to Spanish Fork.

But now they are going on to Baltimore to attend graduate school, so that will be great for them. We miss them, but we're happy they get to take advantage of this opportunity. And although we won't be seeing them as often, we'll still keep in touch. :o)

5 Simple Pleasures

I got tagged! And I think this is the perfect thing for me right now. Thanks Jessica!


1) Bouncing on our patio chairs in the evening while I watch Addison search for ants.

2) Reading on a blanket on the lawn/Bart reading to me on a blanket on the lawn.

3) Finding baby socks in my pockets at work.

4) Addison calling out "Mama!" when she wakes up in the morning and wants me to get her up.

5) The smell of the wet fields when I go jogging after it rains....it reminds me of jogging in Austria at the foot of the Alps...It sounds weird, but it's freaking AWESOME!!!

5) Bart letting me put my cold feet on him when I get into bed at night.

5) Bart pushing the snooze button, then turning around to snuggle until the alarm goes off again.

Okay, so I have some extra fives in there, but believe me there could be a TON more.

I tag Christa, Tabitha, and Amy. What are 5 of your simple pleasures?

Mama!

Okay, so we keep some books and a few toys in Addison's crib so that if she wakes up in the morning before Bart & I are ready for her to wake up she has something to do. This has worked out pretty well. For the most part she'll just play and talk to herself for a while before she starts whinning. If she does start whining before we're ready, we usually just let her whine until we're ready for work (it's never for very long.)

Well, she recently has started waking up and yelling, "MaMa! MaMa!" It's never a scared "Mama" or a sad "Mama" It's just a "Hey, I'm awake, Come get me" "Mama." I cannot resist this. I don't know what it is, but every time she yells it, I can't finish putting on my mascara or socks. I have to immediately run to my baby's bed. I'm always greeted with a big smile and arms out for a hug.

The rest of the morning is always much more complicated since I now have to get ready and watch a toddler, and I always ask myself, "Why didn't I jsut let her play in her crib!" But no matter how solidly I resolve to ignore the "Mama" call, as soon as I hear it, my defenses come crumbling down and I am running in to greet my baby.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels!!!

The dictionary defines rage as "a feeling of intense anger" and "a state of extreme anger." (Does this sound like a church talk yet?)

The other day Bart told me I rage issues...not because I was yelling or throwing a tantrum or anything like that....but because I told him we needed to change the subject when he mentioned a certain gym that screwed us over many years ago...I think he may be right.

There are two things that engender "feelings of intense anger" in me. One is the sales people at this gym that shall remain nameless...I have a REAL issue with people who can look straight at you and lie without batting an eye. Especially when they're talking to starving students about things that have to do with money.

The second is a supposed "computer repair" place that still has the hard drive to my old laptop...I've given up trying to get it after 3 + years.

Despite my trying to get over these two incidents, every time Bart mentions them I feel...well...rage swell up inside my chest and know that the only way I can make the feeling go away is to change the subject immediately and do my best to focus entirely on the new subject.

Well, yesterday I found out about another incident that may give rise to similar angry feelings for years to come. Somebody stole my sister's bike!!!

Now my sister had been saving up for this bike forever...and she LOVED it. She only bought it a few weeks ago and it was her life. She rode her bike everywhere...to school, to work, to get groceries...okay, so she didn't tell me she takes it grocery shopping, but it wouldn't surprise me! We even had decided to get together every Friday and try out a new bike trail. She was taking a mountain biking class this semester, and was so excited about it.

Do you see how happy she looks in that picture! And then Tuesday morning when she opened her door, the place where she had chained her bike up on the balcony was empty!!! I can just picture the horror/sadness/....okay, I need to stop picturing that because I'm getting even more of those bad feelings.

I've been thinking about it, and it's not the actual bike stealing that is making me mad. It's the part where someone hut my sister so much. For someone to steal something that she had worked so hard for and loved so much just infuriates me. I hate the thought of someone making my sister hurt like that! GRRR!!!!

Now, I know that we're supposed to forgive...and especially with the first two incidents, I think I need to stop ignoring the problem and face it head on so I can get over them...I mean it has literally been years. They should not be evoking so much emotion in me.

I think part of the reason I have held on to these feelings so long is that we don't ever bring it up, so I don't deal with it. There are plenty of things that I have been mad about in the past that I've gotten over. And it's totally true how harboring bad feelings only hurts you. I seriously am so mad I start aching every time I think about these things!!! Te he he.

Anyway, this has been relatively therapeutic, and I promise to work on forgiving these people who I feel have wronged me in the past...but as for the bike thing...if you see someone riding around town in an Orange Raleigh, I too will pay your medical bills if you get hurt tackling them.

Life is Good!

Well, this weekend has been wonderful. Yesterday I got to talk to my brother. (His companion was talking to his family today, so since there's such a time difference, we got to talk to Eric yesterday.) It was awesome hearing from him. It sounds like he's doing great.

We also basically spent all day doing yard week again. As I mentioned in a previous post...I LOVE yard work! I may be a freak of nature, but there's just something about being out there, working with Bart, fixing all of the things that Addison "helped" with. I love it. Our yard now looks like this:

Now, in case you don't appreciate all the work that took. Let me remind you of what it looked like last week:

Those are weeds, not plants in the background. And this picture doesn't do justice to the work in the raspberry & strawberry patch. There were TONS of dead stalks that we got rid of . It was a LONG day. Long, but good. We still have to do the back two plots....all the stores around here were out of manure yesterday afternoon...oh well. Right now we have tomatoes, Peppers, broccoli, and an egg plant. We still have to plant the Squash, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and beans. I'm excited.

Well, today is Mother's day, and so far it has been wonderful. Addison made me this beautiful picture of a butterfly at Robyn's. She painted and crumpled the wings all by herself! I love it! It's my first Mother's Day picture from her. When I was a kid I used to think my mom probably would get tired of all the mother's day pictures we made for her. I was TOTALLY wrong! If I had a million of these pictures, I'd be the happiest, proudest mom in the world!!!

The Priesthood came and took over in Primary, Young Women's, and Nursery so that all the women in the ward could go to Relief Society. It was great! We were up in primary to make sure everyone got to their seats okay, and that there were men with every class, but then we went to class.

I laughed because Bart got the privilege of sitting up front with the sunbeams. I knew that was going to be a fun day for him. He later informed me that one of our sunbeams likes to talk like a demon. Here's how the conversation went:

Demon-sunbeam: Who are you?
Bart: I'm Brother Francis, I'm going to sit with you guys today.
Demon-Sunbeam: Oh, okay.
Bart (In the middle of a song): :::yawn:::
Demon-Sunbeam: Why are you yawning, are you tired? You should be singing.

Te he he, I know, not the most exciting conversation, but this little girl is just the cutest thing, and I get the biggest kick out of thinking of her talking like a demon to Bart. It's Great!

Bart is now cooking me dinner...well, he's looking intently at a cookbook anyway. But there is corn on the grill, and I'm smelling something wonderful...I think it's some sort of marinade, so I'm excited.

Now for some bragging time. Addison is doing all sorts of cute things now. Lately she has become OBSESSED with bugs, especially ants. She loves watching them walk around, pick things up, climb up walls...pretty much anything that has to do with ants she loves...I'm going to have to get the movie. She has even started picking them up to show me. Which invariably maims, if not kills them, so I'm trying to teach her not to touch.

She also loves pointing at flys and saying, "Bug!" She'll follow them from room to room as long as she can keep an eye on them.

The other day Addison was out back with Bart while I was in the kitchen. All of the sudden she is just giggling like crazy. I laugh a little thinking of what Bart must be doing to make her laugh. But she just keeps on laughing! Finally I go outside and say, "Bart, what on earth are you doing to make her laugh like that." He's like, "Nothing!" Lately the trees in our neighborhood have been giving off this stuff that looks like cotton and just floats through the air. Addison was trying to catch all the cotton. Apparently she thought it was pretty dang funny! It was adorable!!!

Finally, last night Bart was putting Addison to bed. I went up with them to say family prayers. When we were done, I said, "Addison, can you give me a kiss goodbye." She kissed me, then she held her arms out and said, "Hug!" It was SOOOOOOOO cute!!! I gave her a hug. Then she turned to Bart & said, "Bye bye!" Her routine is family prayers, hug and kiss the parent not putting her to bed goodbye, and then read with the parent putting her to bed. She was trying to get Bart to leave even though she knew it was me that would be leaving. It was AWESOME!!! I love my baby!

Well, lastly I want to say thanks to the wonderful mothers in my life. I love my mom so much! She is so wonderful. She's always been there for me no matter what! It's so nice to know that I can ask her advice and know that when she responds, she has nothing but my best interest in mind. I love my mom!

I also love my mother in law! I have said this a million times, but every time I hear people complaining about their mother in laws, I thank my lucky stars for Maralee! I love just being around her. She is so friendly and loving. You can't help smiling when you're in her presence.

I love my grandma's too. Grandma Collyer has always been such a great example to me, and she always lets me know how proud of me she is. I love her so much! And Grandma Timms is just so much fun, and has the greatest attitude! I love being around her!

My Late Grandma Timms died when I was younger, and I miss her. I always feel like she's looking down on me cheering me on when I'm having a hard time. I love her.

I love Grandma Francis. She welcomed me to the family with open arms from day one, and I have felt her love ever since. She is wonderful.

I also miss Grandma Roberts. She was such a sweet lady. She also made me feel like a part of the family from day one. From the day I met her, I felt like I had always been her granddaughter...even before Bart & I were married. There was something familiar about her. I swear I must have known her in a past life! I love her.

I am so very grateful for all the mothers in my life. I love you all!!!

March & April Video

So in March we had a ton of stuff happen, but I only made a video about New Orleans, so this video has both March and April in it. Enjoy!

What a Week!

Well, last Friday Amy came over, and we put together the bike trailer Bart & I got for Christmas. Although we didn't have time that day, we were able to take it on a ride later, and Addison loved it. She wasn't a big fan of the helmet or stopping, but while we were riding she loved it!

The reason we didn't have time to ride that day was because Bart's brother Sam graduated! Congrats Sam! We went up to Salt Lake for a celebration dinner. Bart's parents were really sweet and took Addison home so that Bart & I could go to the movies with the siblings. Sam, Charles, and Bart went and Saw Iron Man, and Geneava, Heather, and I saw Maid of Honor. It was a lot of fun getting out and seeing a movie with the Girls. And it was nice because the guys got to see what they wanted too.

Saturday Amy babysat so that Bart & I could go see The Producers for our Anniversary. The play was AWESOME!!! It was so funny! And it was nice to get out on a date. It seems like it's been forever! Thank you so much Amy! We REALLY Appreciate it.

On Monday, Bart's family was up again to take Bart's brother to have an MRI or something for his Back that has been hurting him lately.

Bart's dad has also been in a lot of pain lately. And he's been feeling sick and dizzy, and tired, and having all sorts of problems. So they went to the VA on Tuesday and found out that he has a brain tumor. The doctors kept him there over night and took a CAT scan (I think) today. They found out that the tumor is about the size of a fist. They are coming up tomorrow to see a specialist, get a biopsy, and figure out what they can do.

I think we're all a little in shock. It's nice that we know what's wrong, but I don't think any of us were expecting this. And it would be much nicer if it wasn't something so serious. It will be good to see what the specialist says. Keep him in your prayers! We'll keep you updated as we get more information.

Here are a couple pictures of Zeke with Addison & McKenna.

One Proud Mama

So Friday I got to talk to Addison's teachers (Nyla and Robyn) for a while...well, I guess they're not technically teachers since she's not in school yet, but they teach her a ton, so I'll call them her teachers. Addison was asleep at home and Amy had come over, so I ran a few things over to their house and had a little bit of time to chat.

We were talking about how Addison's language is really starting to develop, and they said, "Really Rebecca, she is incredibly smart."

They have this little baby circle time for all the babies before they have circle time for the older kids because the babies usually can't sit through all of the older kid circle time. Not only does she sit through both circle times, but she pretty much leads it. They'll ask, "What song shall we sing next?" and Addison will yell out a song ("Pop!" for "Popcorn popping," etc.) Or she'll do some of the actions to a song that she wants to sing.

I guess that before kids go into kindergarten here, they have to know 5 nursery rhymes. Nyla and Robyn are sure she has them memorized, she just doesn't have the language skills to communicate them all yet. It wouldn't surprise me because whenever I sing a song to her, she'll start doing the actions for the next part of the song before we get to it.

They also said she has a very mothering personality. She loves kind of watching over everyone and making sure everyone is nice.

The other day Nyla and Robyn told me she came running over to them frantically pointing to her friend, Abby, who was getting into some pictures she wasn't supposed to. She was yelling, "Abby! Abby! Abby!" They looked at each other and said, "Oh my gosh! She's tattling!"

Now don't get me wrong, I don't want my baby to be a tattle tale, but the cognitive process she has to go through to tattle is pretty complex. First she has to know that her friend is doing something she's not supposed to. Then she has to think, "How can I get her to stop?" Then she has to come up with the solution, "Tell Nyla and Robyn so they can stop her." I was pretty impressed that she would do that...especially since she gets into things she knows she's not supposed to all the time...I can't wait until she has little brothers and sisters to tattle on her...te he he.

But I really was just beaming! I'm so proud of my little girl! I think she's just the best! And she has the cutest little personality. I swear it just lights up the room. I love her!

Celebrating Four Years with Needles

So yesterday was our fourth anniversary. We celebrated with a date to the Health Clinic for more travel vaccinations....so romantic! Te he he.

Despite the painful pokes, it really was a good day, and since we went together, it was kind of fun...in an odd, hospitally sort of way.

This Saturday Bart got us tickets to see "The Producers" at the Pioneer Theatre company, so I'm super excited about that! I got him a weed-wacker. I know, it sounds super lame, but he had been wanting it for a while, and our yard really needs it, so He's pretty excited.

Saturday we're going to wake up, wack a couple weeds, and then head off to the show!