2 years.

Today we celebrate. 2 years with our Bina baby. I am equal parts sad, proud, and amazed.

As we watched her fall to sleep, Paul said "She rocked our world 2 years ago!" That she did. The baby that surprised us twice, and has the best kind of story.

I am not shy to admit 3 kids was a hard adjustment for me, kids 2 years apart was hard for me, and making the big move to being a working Mom, to stay at home was hard too.

I look back on the past 2 years feeling proud, because I survived something hard for me. I can even feel amazed that I did it. 2 in diapers, 2 not sleeping through the night, nursing past the 1 year mark...I am stronger than I think I am.

I can also look back and feel sad that I don't have a baby anymore {it wasn't all hard and bad}. She has turned in to a smart, opinionated, independent little soul. I love watching her grow up, and learn. It is definitely bittersweet.

We felt strongly that our Sabrina was going to come to our family, and I am thankful she did. Her smile is contagious, her kisses are endless, and she takes her snuggling very seriously.

Sabrina was easy to fall in love with, especially when she flashes you her amazing smile. Feeling extra grateful that we got a happy ending after everything we went through to get her here. She is our miracle, and I will never understand how we got so lucky to have her in our family.

 Love you sweet Bina Jane.

Grandma Sell

A couple of weekends ago we got to have Grandma Sell come and stay with us. It was such a treat. 

Paul and I ran away for some alone time, and Grandma stayed with the kids and did an excellent job entertaining them! I never have to worry about our kids when Grandma is here, it is a good feeling.

Grandma bought Savannah a slip 'n slide, and everyone got to enjoy it. I had purchased a couple of little pots with seeds to plant our own tomatoes and strawberries. When they had left over seeds, we were off to buy more pots and soil. The kids loved doing this project with her. But the thing they look forward to the most with Grandma? Gas station walks. It is the simple things for them.

When kids were all in bed, the adults stayed up way past our normal bedtime to have long chats. I love talking to my Mother in Law, and wish this could happen more often.

When Grandma left, I think Savannah cried for a solid hour. Our kids really are so spoiled when Grandma {and Grandpa} come. 

PS They also were gifted Snackeez, and I am not lyin' when I say I love those darn cups!

PSS I never take enough pictures, and I always regret it.

cleaning, projects, and crafts.

Our adventure a day is going to look a little different this week. I decided that I could enjoy our Summer waaaay more if we got some cleaning, organizing, and other stuff out of the way first.

I had been sick the entire last week, and I didn't see an end in sight. This is why I made other plans, in case I was still sick this week too...and needed to stick around the house. Luckily I got over my illness, but I still liked what I had in mind.

I have a long list of half finished projects, and a long list of things that have been nagging me to finally start.

We started with deep cleaning the garage, and then another day we did the car. We also got our carpets cleaned, which meant lots of cleaning of the house. I randomly decided to stain the back porch, a few slivers, but kind of a fun project.

When these bigger projects were finished, I had a lot of little fun projects around the house to do. I had bought some blank story books a few months ago, and we decorated those/finished the one I started for a gift. I bought a Banzai Wigglin' Water Sprinkler for the kids, and they spent a couple of hours playing with it. Best $10 I have spent recently. We also hit up the new splash pad close to our house, and a picnic dinner one night. 

Before Summer started I stocked up on random $1 toys, and the kids have gotten the bug house/net out to catch some gross things in our back yard. We also found some invisible ink pens I had been hiding for a rainy day, and made lots of love notes to each other.

We still have a lot planned for the rest of the week. It will include a lot of Grandma time, walks/riding our bikes, a couple of science projects and art projects, and a big water fight.

June ended up getting filled up with dentist appointments, doctor appointments, and Savannah is still going to girl scout camp too. It has been a lot to work around, but I am hopeful July should have a lot more field trips.

Blackridge Reservoir

Our first full day off of school we planned to do one of our favorite spots, Blackridge Reservoir. Most of the kids in our area still were in school, so we were hoping for it to be less busy. 

We planned it first thing in the morning, and we were not disappointed to be one of the few on the beach. It was perfect. We did meet up with some of our friends, which always makes it a little more fun.

I wish I could say this was my favorite trip, but that would be a lie. 

Savannah was in rare form, yes...Savannah! Devin got stung by a wasp right after we got there, and begged to go home. Sabrina didn't want to play in the water, she wanted to go to the playground. It was a tough crowd that day. We only made it a couple of hours, and headed to the closest place for a large Coke. 

We definitely need a repeat of the reservoir, because this time was a bust.

our 3rd grader.

Summer has officially started over here! High five people! We made it through the 3rd grade.

This year was probably the hardest for Savannah, not academically, just lots of...uh...hormones. I apologized to her teacher on the last day of school, because I wasn't as "present" as I have been in previous years. I tried to make up for it the last week of school by taking gifts/lunch to them every day.

I can still think of a long list of fabulous things that did happen this school year that were totally blog worthy, I just never got around to actually talking about them.

Savannah found a lot of new things she was interested in.  It has taken her a lot searching and trying things out to find out what her hobbies and true passions are.

Every day at recess her and all of her friends played soccer. She absolutely fell in love. We have already signed her up for a team that starts this Fall with some of her classmates. We are only a few days in to the Summer, and she is asking Devin multiple times a day to go outside to kick the soccer ball around.

Savannah's school has lots of after school programs, and she signed up for everything that she could for her age group. Show choir was her all time favorite thing, and she took it very seriously. She also really loved the art program too. We still have most of it displayed proudly in our house.

I am very proud of the way Savannah excels in school. She was disappointed to see the school year end, I on the other hand was ecstatic. She loves reading, and every night she has her nose in another book. 

She is definitely ready for another school year, but I am going to make her have fun with me until it starts.

Highland Town Center Splash Pad

Even though Savannah has been in school, we have done a few adventures already. What can I say, I have been really excited for this Summer biznass to come. 

So, last week we hit up the Highland Town Center Splash Pad. It was a favorite for us last year, and will be again this year. It is a little far away for us, but totally worth the drive. We got there right at 10:00 AM when the water was just turning on for the day. There weren't very many people, which was a total bonus. 

I like to go and do things like this earlier in the day, because it isn't as busy...or miserably hot. This splash pad doesn't have tons of shade close to the water, so if you get there early, you can also score a sweet spot.

Something I learned last year is to pack lots of random Tupperware/buckets, things to float down the little river, and squirt guns. My kids spend very little time on the actual splash pad, and lots of time filling up cups to dump on each other in the river. It is always funny to me that $1 store bowls can be such a hot item at the splash pad, but they are...trust me.

We stayed a record amount of time, I want to say 3+ hours. We stopped across the street for a quick bite to eat, and headed home. It was an awfully quiet, sleepy drive, which is just how I like my adventures to end.

Information:

Name: Highland town Center Splash Pad
Address: 5400 W Civic Center Dr Highland, UT
Admission/Cost: n/a

a first - er visit

I am not an overly paranoid Mommy. I don't run to the Doctor when my kids are sick, and I usually have more of a wait-it-out kind of attitude when my kids are hurt. 

I have never taken any of my kids to the emergency room. My almost 10 year stretch was wrecked with the child I would have least expected...Bina baby.

Sabrina woke up in the middle of the night, over a week ago, holding the back/side of her head. None of my kids have ever had an ear infection, so I wasn't positive if this could be one or not. She couldn't lay down, and if she tried...she would just scream in pain. It was odd to watch, and absolutely heartbreaking. After I gave her medication, and she still was in the same situation...Paul and I decided it was time to take her in. 

3:30 AM I had to load that cute little screaming girl in her car seat. It was a long, miserable drive to the hospital.

Upside of going at this time? She was seen right away, and had the whole staff fussing over her.

They ran test, and another one, and another one...and couldn't figure out what was going on. No ear infection, no temperature, no runny nose. She was consistent in touching the same spot so we were still concerned.

The Doctor decided a CT scan was in order. As we walked the long, empty halls of the hospital I couldn't help but feel a overwhelming feeling of love for my baby girl. I knew this test could be miserable, and I wanted them to get good pictures of her brain and neck so we could find the problem.

My Dora blankie makes everything better.

They put her on a pillow, and had me lay slightly on top of her...face to face. The nurse told me to comfort her as we both went into the machine together. I could see the complete fear in her eyes, and the first thing that came to my mind was sing I Am a Child of God. As soon as I started to sing, she completely relaxed...and her eye lids got heavy. Bina fell asleep, and I just looked at her feeling so thankful that she is my little baby.

Unfortunately they never did find anything wrong, and we went home still in pain. We stayed on top of the medication, we used those crazy oils every talks about, and eventually the pain went away. We decided it was either a pulled muscle, or some sort of migraine. Whatever it was, I am glad that it wasn't anything major...and that she is back to feeling like herself.

After a night in the ER, she still manages to smile.