I just love this picture of my sweet family. There we were, all bundled up outside on the patio watching a fall rain storm! It was a precious moment. I remember doing the same thing with my own daddy. Nothing is cozier or more comfortable than being snuggled by a loving parent!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
cool fall days
I just love this picture of my sweet family. There we were, all bundled up outside on the patio watching a fall rain storm! It was a precious moment. I remember doing the same thing with my own daddy. Nothing is cozier or more comfortable than being snuggled by a loving parent!
Pre-K!
Our Gabers started pre-K this fall! Doesn't he look so tall and handsome?! 
I wish I could say he is thrilled about it but most days he protests about going! I have to say that he always has fun once he gets there though. He is just a reserved little guy. It takes him a bit to warm up and make friends but once he does he can be the silliest, funniest guy around!
I wish I could say he is thrilled about it but most days he protests about going! I have to say that he always has fun once he gets there though. He is just a reserved little guy. It takes him a bit to warm up and make friends but once he does he can be the silliest, funniest guy around!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
I'm a NICU nurse
It feels so good to say that. I realize it's cheesy, I really do, but I feel like I've ignored a big part of my identity for the last few years! I miss it. I mean I really miss it. More than I thought I ever would. It's been 2 years since I have been into a NICU and worked with those sweet little spirits. Sometimes it will hit me so hard my heart aches with it. Working in that unique and special place was a huge part of my life before moving here to Washington. I spent 8 years doing it, 6 years full-time, before I left. More time than I have been a wife or a mother! Maybe that is why I feel that longing to be there again so much lately. It's kind of funny that it has taken me this long to realize how important it is to me. I still don't think I'll get my license while we're living here (just too much hassle for a short period) but I can't wait to get back someday!Here are some pictures of a precious few babies I took care of. I LOVED being around those little miracles every day. That is what they are too. This first little sweetheart was teensy tiny (that pic does not do her justice) and yet she did not need any respiratory support at all! She was breathing room air, no prob! :) That's a miracle!
These other little people were babies that I truly bonded to. They were so precious! I have even kept in touch with most of their families!
Here is my most special little girl... Lindi. She was another sweet little miracle. She started like this:
And was a cute little "chubber" before she went home! Now she is a beautiful little girl. I cherish my relationship with her mom even now.
Is there any place on earth better to work than the NICU?!! I don't think so! :) For the most part you get to be a part of miracles and healing... and I can't imagine a better work environment than being surrounded by all those fresh little spirits from heaven. I can't wait to get back there someday! But for now I'll focus my love and attention on my own sweet little spirits from heaven! :)
Friday, September 9, 2011
Ward Campout!
We took the kids on the ward campout this year. It was a lot of fun! Nyah gloried in the dirty dirt everywhere and Gabe became the absolute best 4-year old fisherman in the world! 
Now those are just he highlights... there was also homemade snowcones at the campfire along with magic tricks, homemade ice cream, and of course smores. Before the campfire the kids all put glow sticks on like bones and walked around the campground like a bunch of skeletons! The campers LOVED it!!! Gabe proudly wore a glow hat that he loved. I have to add here that half way through the walk around, Gabe told me that is was really late and he was tired (in an almost accusatory manner!) and that he needed to go to bed. When we got back to the campsite Daddy could not talk him into staying up for the campfire even! That little boy knows when he needs to go to sleep!! :) Nyah was already sleeping by then too - both kiddies got to bed pretty early for camping and slept well all night!
The next morning donned early - as it usually does camping. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of pancakes and sausage cooked by the bishopric before heading off to the lake beach to fish. Gabe has been itching to go fishing ever since Aunt Erin's family gave him a real fishing pole for Christmas. His little pole even came with a small, plastic, orange fish to use tied to your line to practice casting. Gabe has pored over the packaging and exclaimed excitedly about that fish for months. So you can imagine his reaction when Eric went to show him how to cast the first time and off flew the fish! (Not a good fishing knot Daddy?!!) To say Gabe was disappointed would be an understatement of the year. He was DEVASTATED. Absolutely beside himself. It was painful to behold, I must say. So what else could Eric do but swim out in the glacial water and try to find it... Unfortunately that didn't work. It was far too deep and murky and to be honest, Eric was having a difficult time catching his breath to dive in the freezing water! But seeing Daddy out searching made Gabe want to join so in he went! Brrrrrr!! Nyah did her best to completely douse herself in water as well. My goodness, I discovered I should have packed swim suits! :)
After Gabe recovered from his lost plastic fish, I tied a key onto the end of his line instead (from Eric's key chain - a fitting punishment for losing the fish I thought, haha!) and Gabe practiced casting for a good hour with it. It was incredible to watch. He got the hang of it so fast and was absolutely in the "zone"! He waded out to this log and climbed on and sat there casting and casting away. It was so cute! After about an hour he came back to the beach and asked me why the fish weren't eating the key!! I was shocked that he had somehow misunderstood that he was practicing, not really fishing! Poor little guy! So we talked about how fish don't like to eat keys, they usually like to eat yummy things like worms. :) He seemed ok to keep practicing but I can't wait for him to actually go fishing and catch something!
The scene in the car driving home. Gabe was happily watching a movie next to her. What a fun weekend!
Now those are just he highlights... there was also homemade snowcones at the campfire along with magic tricks, homemade ice cream, and of course smores. Before the campfire the kids all put glow sticks on like bones and walked around the campground like a bunch of skeletons! The campers LOVED it!!! Gabe proudly wore a glow hat that he loved. I have to add here that half way through the walk around, Gabe told me that is was really late and he was tired (in an almost accusatory manner!) and that he needed to go to bed. When we got back to the campsite Daddy could not talk him into staying up for the campfire even! That little boy knows when he needs to go to sleep!! :) Nyah was already sleeping by then too - both kiddies got to bed pretty early for camping and slept well all night!The next morning donned early - as it usually does camping. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of pancakes and sausage cooked by the bishopric before heading off to the lake beach to fish. Gabe has been itching to go fishing ever since Aunt Erin's family gave him a real fishing pole for Christmas. His little pole even came with a small, plastic, orange fish to use tied to your line to practice casting. Gabe has pored over the packaging and exclaimed excitedly about that fish for months. So you can imagine his reaction when Eric went to show him how to cast the first time and off flew the fish! (Not a good fishing knot Daddy?!!) To say Gabe was disappointed would be an understatement of the year. He was DEVASTATED. Absolutely beside himself. It was painful to behold, I must say. So what else could Eric do but swim out in the glacial water and try to find it... Unfortunately that didn't work. It was far too deep and murky and to be honest, Eric was having a difficult time catching his breath to dive in the freezing water! But seeing Daddy out searching made Gabe want to join so in he went! Brrrrrr!! Nyah did her best to completely douse herself in water as well. My goodness, I discovered I should have packed swim suits! :)After Gabe recovered from his lost plastic fish, I tied a key onto the end of his line instead (from Eric's key chain - a fitting punishment for losing the fish I thought, haha!) and Gabe practiced casting for a good hour with it. It was incredible to watch. He got the hang of it so fast and was absolutely in the "zone"! He waded out to this log and climbed on and sat there casting and casting away. It was so cute! After about an hour he came back to the beach and asked me why the fish weren't eating the key!! I was shocked that he had somehow misunderstood that he was practicing, not really fishing! Poor little guy! So we talked about how fish don't like to eat keys, they usually like to eat yummy things like worms. :) He seemed ok to keep practicing but I can't wait for him to actually go fishing and catch something!The scene in the car driving home. Gabe was happily watching a movie next to her. What a fun weekend!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
swim lessons for Gabe!!
This was Gabe's first year of swim lessons and I'm thrilled to say he did fantastic! With how cautious our little man has always been, I wasn't sure how well swim lessons would go over. But I knew he really needed them to start to feel comfortable in the water. His teachers were great and really helped him have FUN in the water! He loved every minute of it! After a month of lessons (2 sessions) he can submerge his face all the way up to his eyebrows, blow bubbles under water, and bounce like a frog through the water taking breaths with each bounce! He is also learning to float front and back, kick his feet and many other fishy skills. :) He has had a blast and has come a long way! His teacher even dubbed him the best shark ever!
Gabe's #1 fans!!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
A Day at Mt. Rainier
We spent one glorious Saturday exploring Mt. Rainier National Park. It was beautiful, as you can see from the pictures. The glacier was amazing to see so up close. 
We spent some time at the Grove of Patriarchs which was incredible. To get there, you had to cross this bouncy suspension bridge, one person at a time. Gabe loved it! The Grove was full of old-growth trees including Douglas-Fir that were 1,000 years old! It was amazing.
We ended the day by stopping for dinner in this old dining train car that was restored into a restaurant. Gabe was absolutely thrilled! (Too bad that what looked so cool on the outside was extremely shabby on the inside, way expensive and nasty to boot! Oh well, we figured it was worth it for Gabe's sake! :) It was pretty cool climbing up the stairs to eat inside a train!! We even got to see some real steam engines puffing by too! He loved it!
We spent some time at the Grove of Patriarchs which was incredible. To get there, you had to cross this bouncy suspension bridge, one person at a time. Gabe loved it! The Grove was full of old-growth trees including Douglas-Fir that were 1,000 years old! It was amazing.
We ended the day by stopping for dinner in this old dining train car that was restored into a restaurant. Gabe was absolutely thrilled! (Too bad that what looked so cool on the outside was extremely shabby on the inside, way expensive and nasty to boot! Oh well, we figured it was worth it for Gabe's sake! :) It was pretty cool climbing up the stairs to eat inside a train!! We even got to see some real steam engines puffing by too! He loved it!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Canada family reunion
Every year Mom's family gathers from all over Alberta and the States for Magrath Days - a weekend celebration of Pioneer Day that the town puts on that includes community meals, a softball tournament, a parade, a carnival, fireworks and more. I grew up going to Magrath Days and now I get to bring my own children. It is so fun! I love tradition and this is one of my favorites. Now all my siblings and cousins come with all their children which makes it a crazy BIG gathering but a blast too!! 
Here we are playing games right away - haha! That's my family for ya!
Nyah had a wonderful time copying the big boys Wesley and Gabe putting stickers all over Grandma's entry. Uh oh! (Good thing those stickers came off easily since there was about 100!)
When arrived Thursday night, we immediately headed over to the ball field to start warming up for the first softball game. This is a very serious competition! Each family has a team and since my Grandma's family has always been a big part of the community, we have plenty of people to play! There are a lot of rules - one of which is that there has to be 3 girls on the team. When we can make it, Mindy and I are usually 2 of the 3. It is SO fun to play with my sister...and Eric, Matt and Griff. Just like the old days when all of us played on a softball team in Utah. We kicked butt (although not due to me) and had so much fun! Only this tournament is even better because I have all my extended family playing and watching too! The softball tournament is always a highlight of our 24th of July trip.
Here we are playing games right away - haha! That's my family for ya!Nyah had a wonderful time copying the big boys Wesley and Gabe putting stickers all over Grandma's entry. Uh oh! (Good thing those stickers came off easily since there was about 100!)When arrived Thursday night, we immediately headed over to the ball field to start warming up for the first softball game. This is a very serious competition! Each family has a team and since my Grandma's family has always been a big part of the community, we have plenty of people to play! There are a lot of rules - one of which is that there has to be 3 girls on the team. When we can make it, Mindy and I are usually 2 of the 3. It is SO fun to play with my sister...and Eric, Matt and Griff. Just like the old days when all of us played on a softball team in Utah. We kicked butt (although not due to me) and had so much fun! Only this tournament is even better because I have all my extended family playing and watching too! The softball tournament is always a highlight of our 24th of July trip. The next day was my birthday and Mom made me a delicious German Chocolate cake. I had a lot of help blowing out the candles! After the 2nd softball game, we all got together for dinner. What a fun birthday for me!
Gabe, Mom, Mindy and baby Colt
Hayley holding Colt in his darling little sweater, heehee!! (It was a little chilly so he borrowed Nyah's spare sweater. We all thought it was pretty dang funny!) What a cute baby he is (pink sweater and all) - look at those dimples! :)
Jack and Gabe were having a grand old time jumping up and swatting at that wind chime on Grandma's deck. There was so much giggling going on, it attracted my attention and out came the camera! I love those little boys so much.
Gabe, Mom, Mindy and baby Colt Hayley holding Colt in his darling little sweater, heehee!! (It was a little chilly so he borrowed Nyah's spare sweater. We all thought it was pretty dang funny!) What a cute baby he is (pink sweater and all) - look at those dimples! :)Jack and Gabe were having a grand old time jumping up and swatting at that wind chime on Grandma's deck. There was so much giggling going on, it attracted my attention and out came the camera! I love those little boys so much.
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