May

Dear May,

You were great. Want to hear some of your highlights that we did not cover elsewhere. 

Shantel's mom came to stay which was fun for her and the kids. This was good too because I have been busier than normal at work for May and so I was glad she had some company.  

Shantel did a unit about Bear's with the kids and told them one night they could watch a bear show the next day, so here they are enjoying their show and some breakfast.

Me brushing Lydia's hair one night (while also getting a hug from Caleb). I don't help Lydia with her hair often, but when I get the chance I really do enjoy bushing her hair and feel like that is some good bonding time for us.

Austins socks after playing outside one day. They did not have holes when he went outside that morning. Farewell socks. Also, some pictures of the kids playing outside.

Caleb helping with the dishes.

Last day of homeschool! To celebrate, Shantel made the kids breakfast in bed as a special treat. Such a fun thing. I'll try to add a note to a homeschool post, but in case I miss it, just a couple things to note here. Shantel has done an amazing job at homeschool this year. Her impact on our kids as been incredible. Shantel has done such a great job teaching Lydia. Helping her to learn and enjoy learning. She has done so much to help Austin and Caleb as well. I am grateful for her contributions to our family and the time she spent with them this year.

Kids playing together - this never ceases to melt my heart.

I bought new brown shoes. This seems like it would not be a big deal- but I have been looking for new brown shoes that I like for a long time. I have not been able to find any that I really liked. Then I found these gems in the store and was so excited...except they were the wrong size and were the last ones in any store...fortunately we found a pair online and I can't wait to wear them.

Cuddling in bed. Seriously the best.

 Kids in a fort and watching a show.

Blocks with the kids.

Caleb helping with the baby blanket.

Sibling love. (Hard to see, but all three kids are in Caleb's bed in the shot below).

Lydia reading to Austin.

Daddy and Austin date. We went to Thanksgiving point and had so much fun. We got ice cream cones and then went in search of Austin's favorite waterfall. He has gone there with Shantel, but we had to search around for it. Eventually we found it and it made his day.

Matt came for branding in Wyoming and then stayed with us for a night before heading back to California. We loved having him there. In addition, he flew out of the Provo airport and we had never been there. It is tiny, but the kids enjoyed seeing a couple little planes.

Each year, our street has an end of year ice cream party and the kids love it. After the party, Shantel took the kids to the pool to kick off summer.

Caleb. He found the cheerios. It was a disaster.

Austin on a scooter. Also, balancing in the van.

Playing with Caleb. Bed time with the kids. 

Sibling love. 

Austin shredding some papers. He is really good at shredding papers, and happens to love it. So after I had gone through some old papers, we had a nice big pile for him to shred. 

Ashley & Baby Jackson

I posted about this before, but my dearest friend Ashley and I were due just one day apart from each other. It certainly wasn't planned that way (how could you even plan something like that? - that's what I want to ask anyone who asks us if we planned it, ha.) but it's been great. 

Actually, it's really hard in a lot of ways to be pregnant at the same time as your best friend because then you can help each other out in the same way that you could otherwise. You can commiserate together, but you can't go mop the other person's floor, clean their baseboards, or make them dinner because they are feeling too nauseous to do those things if you're feeling too nauseous to do those things, too! 

But do you know what is great? Being able to be there for each other when you most need it. 

Ashley was struggling with high blood pressure and ended up delivering baby Jackson three weeks early via early induction due to possible pre-eclampsia. (I'm just glad our babies birthdays will still be in the same month!) Her mom was out of town, and she graciously allowed me to come and be with her for the labor and delivery. I acted as a support to her and was there to take pictures as well. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I cried through the entire delivery because it was just so amazing. Ashley was strong, powerful, beautiful, and amazing. I snapped a few pictures on my phone of the picture that I took of her and everytime I look at them I just want to sob. 

I'm so grateful that Ashley let me be a part of this special time. It has made me so excited to meet our little girl in just a couple of weeks. In the past, I've been fearful of the labor process - but watching Ashley did nothing but make me confident and excited for the whole process. It's a bit mind-blowing. Our babies are literally days apart as far as their development in utero, but now she has a tiny little baby-human that she is holding in her arms. I can hardly believe that I have one of those, too - she's just still growing and living inside of my body. (Pregnancy is beautiful but crazy at the same time.) 

The only problem is that now I feel like I want a birth photographer in the hospital with us. It's always been just David and I, but having a record of those special moments between David and I - a way to capture the feelings and emotion of the whole experience would be amazing. 

Now excuse me while I go and work on packing our hospital bags because this whole baby thing just got to a new level of real! 

Rugby Game

Shantel surprised her dad for his birthday with tickets to the Utah Warriors rugby game. Scott loves rugby and it was great because we were able to get tickets for everyone who lives in the state. It was really fun and the kids had fun as well. 

Blog takeover from Shantel: I found a coupon code for really really really cheap tickets for the last Rugby game of the season and so I bought them without even asking anyone if they would be able to come. Then I sent out a text to my family telling them to save the date for June 1st, without telling them what for. I figured that those who could come, would come, and if they couldn't - then hopefully at least my dad would be able to come! It was awesome because both Melissa and Blake AND Jacob were able to make it, and even my mom was able to come, too. I've never seen a Rugby game before and it was really interesting and fun! 

The kids did a great job of sitting and watching (and eating candy and playing with Melissa and Blake) but toward the end when they started to get restless my dad got up with them and walked with each of them individually around the field, telling them about what was going on, etc.. One of the times he ended up coming back with a big snowcone for the kids to share. (He's a softie.)  

I'm grateful for my dad and all the things that he does for me and for my family and I'm so glad that we got to celebrate him and his birthday by going to this Rugby game together. I love spending time with my family - and I love how they always come together to support and show love, too. 

Go Warriors!