Jackson's Baptism

On Saturday, May 2 2015, Jackson was baptized and confirmed by Brian. It was a special day for him, and all of us. His Great Grandpa Schenk and his Great Aunt Denise made the special trip down for the occasion. Great Grandpa Schenk and Uncle Danny Beutler were witnesses. Aunt Liz played the piano and Grandma Gray said the closing prayer. 

Jackson shared his baptism with 3 other people from the stake, 2 of whom were at his party the night before. Kaylor Hansen has been a great friend of Jackson's since Kindergarten. It was neat to share that day together and have each boy witness the other's baptism. 

Grandma Beutler made Jackson a very special Afghan in the red yarn he chose a few years back! It was cool to see the beautiful finished product. The yarn is so soft and heavy, Jackson commented later that he understood why grandma made these special blankets for her grandchildren's 8th birthday: to remind them of the holy ghost! He has slept with it every night since!

Brian and I both had very special moments with Jackson. We all felt the spirit witnessing to us of the importance of this occasion. Brian felt a powerful spirit when he and Jackson both got dressed in the white clothes, while talking with Jackson about the symbolism of the occasion and while singing the opening song, "Baptism".  After the confirmation, I loved that Jackson came and gave me a big hug throughout the closing song of "When I am Baptized". I was trying to hold back tears because the spirit was so sweet. We are very happy for Jackson in making this step in his life. He is growing up so fast and we are so proud of the wonderful young man he is becoming.

Jackson's 8th Birthday

Jackson was so excited to turn 8!! It has been big year for him and he's excited to grow up. For him, it means no more booster seats on school field trips (yay!!), getting baptized, and more responsibilities... like mowing the lawn and taking the garbage to the road (yay for me!!). Jackson is a great kid. He's very thoughtful of others, tries to be considerate of feelings, and is great at trying to be silly and funny to lighten the mood when its needed. He's a hard worker, loves the outdoors, plays hard and loves life. He's a great negotiator! I sure love having him be apart of the family. We decorated his door for a morning surprise. He did a great job of bursting through it, making sure to get every streamer!

It was Jackson's year to have a friend party for his birthday. He hasn't had one since he was 5 and he probably won't have another until he's 12. It was a very fun party...and a lot of crazy!! We took a huge group of his friends from school and church and a few cousins to Boondocks. Two of his friends at the party would also be baptized with him the following morning (Kaylor and Sophia)! They started off with a pizza party, opening gifts, and topping it off with chocolate cake.  (Just to note for my family journal, his friends at the party were: Xander from soccer, Kaylor Hansen, Brigham Schofield, Jonah and Lynden Houghton, Taylor Washburn, Dominic Hiatt, Matthew Muhlestein, Mason Anderson, Bridger from school, Parker and Chloe Hansen, Sophia Hicks, and his brothers and sister)

The kids got unlimited chances to ride the go-carts and bumper boats and play laser tag (where they all started right after cake), miniature golf, and 20 tokens each to play arcades. Considering the craziness of the evening, I'm assuming everyone had a good time! We couldn't keep track of all the heads 100% of the time, so we just them go amok until it was time to go and hoped they each figured out how to have fun in their own way!

 Jackson tried out the go carts for the first time. I think he was a bit nervous at the start, he was pretty easy going with it, a little timid. He got 200 tickets for being the birthday boy to redeem at the ticket counter for prizes, and I think his tokens earned him a few hundred more. He was pretty ecstatic about trading those in for prizes. I hope it was a birthday he will always remember! Thanks Grandma/pa Gray for coming to support and  helping drive kids, and to Aunt Carissa for taking the trip all by herself to meet us at Boondocks! We appreciate your love and support!

 Since we got home from his party late and he didn't have time to play with any of his presents, he woke up early the next morning and went from toy to toy to toy. It was like Christmas morning all over again! This was a tin can robot set from Gandma/pa Gray, the first he chose to break into! He also got water guns, water balloon set, nerf guns, lego sets and other fun boy things. Happy Boy!

Happy Easter!

In an effort to focus on the real Easter message, we had focused our family prayers, and FHE lessons, evening talks, and scripture study around the life of Christ during his final week. I waited until the day before Easter to buy the basket fillers and candy for the eggs...and had to skim through the last pickings of what was left at the store for Easter because of my procrastination! By 10 pm that night, Calvin came down with croup, Isaac was sick with a Stomach flu, and Zoey was starting a fever and complaining of an earache! Ahh! The last thing our sick kids needed was a bunch of candy! But, it happened anyway. Easter and the bunny and the baskets and the eggs all came whether we were ready for it or not, and whether we needed it or not!

Brian and I didn't get much sleep, so when the kids came hopping into our room to inform us it was EASTER, we asked them to wake us up in an hour! We're so lame! But we were sooo tired! I just have to laugh at our Easter pictures! All the ones I saw posted on Facebook were of other people's children and families cutely dressed in matching spring outfits with smiles. Ours was nothing like that! This is one of our best...Isaac is a gem!

 And of course I'm prompting them to "smile at the camera" and "look at me" with all the enthusiasm I can muster without sounding pissed...and ya....this is what I get. They just want to hunt eggs. What am I thinking?!? I think I'm convinced to forgo family pictures this year. I also think I hear Brian cheering in the background with that news!

Nonetheless, Easter would not be missed at our house, and the kids had an awesome egg hunt. **Spoiler alert** Jackson found out the Easter bunny is not real, and then Zoey found out, and then Eli...so it was kind of sad to see that magic gone. I'm hoping it'll last for a little while longer with Calvin and Isaac.

We had some non-member friends (Rachel and Josh Dees, contacts from Brian's work) and Uncle Brandon over for Easter Dinner. We had our traditional rack of lamb, wild rice salad, pita, hummus, and scalloped potatoes. We topped it off with strawberry shortcake. It was delicious. It was great company. It was great having it on Conference weekend to get a good dose of spirituality mixed in with the weekend!

Jackson and Zoey

 Jackson entered an art competition at school. He won first place and was sent on to region. He won first place in region and was sent on to the state competition. He won first in his category and age group at state too! Way to go Jackson!! He made a large Earth in space from melted crayon on canvas. It took him a month after school to complete it. Sometimes he wanted to give up, but we encouraged him to keep going, and now he's quite proud of his hard work.

Zoey started piano lessons!! We found a beautiful used piano on KSL. We promised her that if she memorized a song we'd take her out for ice cream. She's enjoying her lessons so far, now if only she won't quit like her mama did! Jackson i actually quite good at it too! He's not in lessons yet, but he has figured it out on his own! I'm quite impressed. I have been trying to re-teach myself and am so mad I gave it up! Yes, my mom was right....

Hip recovery, part 2

The first month was pretty rough. A lot of bed rest and little walking. Still taking anti-inflammatory meds and managing pain... I needed a ton of outside help!!I'm now 10 weeks post-op. It's nice to be out of the pajamas-all-day-no-mkaeup phase!

Month two was a bit better. I was able to get a round more on my own and gradually get around without too much additional help. I was using crutches at the beginning of the month and finally weening myself of crutches entirely by the end of the month. I was allowed to swim with my upper body (using a booey between my legs to prevent me from kicking) and I was reminded of how much I enjoy swimming. I felt like a fish in the water, my second home! I loved going to the pool for swims.  I really enjoy the rhythm of the strokes and the quietness under water and sound of my breath when I come up for air. It's kind of peaceful.

This was s beautiful sunrise I captured on the way home from one of my early morning swims. I think I've convinced myself to participate in a 3 mile open water swim race this summer at Deer Creek. It's about the only thing I can actively do right now and it sounds like a fun challenge. I've managed to kick out (well-- not literally kick out but swim) a mile in 30 minutes with just using my arms! The fun thing about the race is that each swimmer needs their own paddler on the side, so Brian get stop join me on the event! It'll be fun.

By 8 weeks I was off all anti-inflammatories!! Physical Therapy has been going well. I've been doing light yoga and some biking. I'm on target to start a run/walk program at 12 weeks. I'm excited for that. On the down side, I've had a decreased range of motion in my hip and I can't do as much as pre-surgery, but I've been working with a sports massage specialists to help bring back the mobility. I still have to manage good days and bad days. Sometimes my hip just decides not to keep up with me and I'll be in pain and out of commission for a couple days. I'm hoping that goes away. Brian must think I coordinate my hip pain with whenever it's "convenient" for me. Ha ha! No really, he's been pretty supportive and has taken on a lot of extra duties. I was just recently cleared to push a vacuum and I haven't had to do any grocery shopping since the surgery. Thanks hubby!!  

A month or two ago seems like a different Chelsea. I can't believe I had to endure all those days in bed! ugh. It was awful.  I'm glad I've gotten through the worst of it. But I am really looking forward to getting back to normal. I think I'm only 50% of the way there. And it will probably take the rest of the year to get me that other 50% back. It's a long slow recovery.

Popcorn popping, Pi Day, and St. Patrick's

Our lives have been somewhat uneventful lately. Summed up by these fun little moments.

Spa day with Zoey, she wanted a mask and her nails done. We found a yogurt honey recipe and she thought it felt funny but tasted good!

We celebrated Pi day with neighbors and of course, ate Pie! Big year for it... 3.14.15!!

Boys got haircut. Eli begged for a mohawk. They all look so similar now! As if they didn't before :)

And we celebrated St. Patricks' day with green eggs and ham (actually bacon) and green colored orange juice. All the kids thought it would be fun, but nobody could eat the green food. Even after reading the book by Dr. Seuss and begging them to just try it...it couldn't be done. Green food is just not appetizing unless it's meant to be green! ha ha! What a waste. 

And lastly, Eli (always one to give us a chuckle) came in super mad, stomping his feet at me the other morning and said, "it is not really popcorn! you cannot eat it!" I guess he was really bummed that one of his favorite songs had let him down! Although the trees are beautiful budding out in delicious smelling blossoms!

Early Spring!

We had such a warm winter this year. I kept waiting for the snow to hit us late this spring to make up for it, but so far it's been really nice! The kids have enjoyed playing outside again...and me too! I love it! Nothing more enjoyable than playing outside! I can't wait to get out and enjoy some running soon! The outdoors just puts a smile on all our faces. It's such a  great time of year.

 Yes...he's eating dirt :) I guess it looked appealing... he's really turning into a fun kid! I love him.

 Calvin finally got the courage to go down the slide all by himself!! And Eli below, not from our backyard, but he really wanted to climb this and then got scared once he got to the top, but once I walked him through it, it was all he wanted to do...again and again!

I convinced Brian to add to our backyard play toys for the kids and he said yes...as long as I put it together. And I did.  Of course I needed his help tightening things up a bit, but it has already been well worth it and provided several hours on entertainment!

Family happenings...

We have had a few family milestones recently! Brandon came home from his Mission in Xalapa, Mexico. We took the kids to see him arrive at the airport. Brian had an app on his phone that could track his plane in real-time, so we waited for it to fly over us, waved Brandon home, and then met up with the rest of the crew to give him our welcome home cheers and hugs. It's great to have him back!

Carissa came down the weekend Brandon gave his homecoming talk and stayed with us. We got to go to the temple together as an entire family with all my siblings and parents and most of the in-laws. It was neat! We were all pooped and needed a nap afterwards, but Carissa got the short end of the stick on that front! She was left to entertain the kids. This is how I found her...trying to nap with all the kids piled on top of her trying to watch movie on a little iPad screen! so funny! 

Chloe was Baptized! We drove to Boise to be with her that weekend. We stayed with uncle Delmar and Luann. The kids loved playing around their yard. Jackson learned to drive a 4 wheeler! They fed horses and enjoyed the new toys and movies in the basement! Air hockey was a favorite new game :)

 It was a fun and special day for Chloe. We were glad to could share it with her. The kids loved the spy party theme! It's great to be 8 and Jackson can't wait for his turn!!

Annie and Ryan blessed their new baby Sienna. She's darling. Zoey keeps begging me to have another baby, but she'll just have to enjoy other people's babies for now and then wait to enjoy her own :)

I love watching our kids have fun with their cousins. It's a lot of CRAZY but a lot of fun too. We have a house full of boys, so Zoey really enjoys these girl bonds.