Rachelle's wedding

The big day has come.  Rachelle and Shad got married today.  I was glad that she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids.  I had fun getting all caught up in a wedding again.  There was lots going on that day and we started off with all of us girls getting ready together at her mom's house.  She had someone doing her hair and makeup then us girls helped each other with hair too.  It was pretty crazy and so many people were there, but we got it all done and out the door in time to get to the temple in time for pictures.  

So excited for hair and makeup

Seeing her for the first time

 We got to the temple and took a few bridal party pictures after they took the bride and groom pictures. We ended up having to hang out and wait around for a little while, so Emily, the maid of honor, and I  talked and got to know some of the family there and caught up with some of our friends that we haven't seen for a while.

 Next thing we knew, it was time to go in and go to the sealing.  It was really sweet and beautiful and I love being apart of sealings.  I feel bad though that Nate got there and forgot his recommend at home so he couldn't come in.  

After the sealing we went out and had some pictures.  I had fun taking some pictures with my camera and being a part of the pictures too.  

After the wedding we headed out to someones house who hosted the luncheon.  We had sandwiches and chips and they each gave gifts to their parents which was really sweet.  Rachelle gave her parents a picture that says "forever your little girl"  and Shad and his siblings gave his parents a blanket that had pictures of all the children with their engagement pictures.  Rachelle also wrote a song that she sang to Shad.  I only got video of everything so no pictures to show for the luncheon.

 

Now the reception.  It was very simple and cute.  I was only there for a little bit because us bridesmaids and groomsmen were off making sure that the hotel room was decorated for them and also decorating the car of course.  It was pretty simple, but we had some fun with it.

They didn't have a first dance or throw the bouquet or the garder, but they did do the cake and it was the same experience that Nate and I had.  He was mean and she was not until it was too late.

We sent them off with sparklers and they were on their way to the hotel.  The honeymooned in California for like a week and are now happily settled in Idaho.  It was crazy and insane, but I was glad I was able to be a part of the wedding and help her go through the whole experience.  Happy wedding Rachelle. 

  

Conference Weekend and New Bed

What better weekend is there than Conference Weekend.  We love having the BYU channel and just getting to be home and watch it on the tv.  The boys got excited when President Monson came on and they thought it was cool to see the apostles and see the big organ.  Nate also was in a mood to do a project for me, so he fixed the boys beds for me.  

Now the beds the boys have were bought from NAU and they were meant to be two beds or they could stack up and be bunk beds.  Since we moved here, they have been their own beds and when we realized some friends were coming to stay with us, we kind of needed that floor space, so Nate fixed them so they could be bunk beds.  The problem was that there was no siding for the top bunk so that was what Nate's project was.  Then I got a crazy idea to paint the whole bed so that the wood was all the same color.  I'm pretty happy with the way turned out and the boys are too.  I'm still a little unsure about if Kayton is totally safe up on the top bunk because he moves around a lot in his sleep and we have found him near the end of the bed a few times.  It's so cute though and I love the beds. 

Before the side panel and paint

After-Painted and side panel

Mid-terms

It's midterms time and things are getting a little too out of control for me.  I am so stressed and stretched out to the max and I am just not my normal self.  I keep wondering how I ever convinced myself it was a good idea to take on a full load of online classes while working part time and being a mother.  I just don't know what I was thinking.  I have had to do 3 different papers all due pretty close to each other and I just wish I could have a lighter schedule.  I don't want to be a quitter though, so I am going to stick out this semester and hope I at least pass them with a decent grade.  I'm definitely not sure what's going to happen in the fall semester though.  Part-time or not at all?  We shall see. 

Spring Break

Spring Break is always a happy time in our house.  Nate is home for the week but this was the first year that I was working and I only got Friday off.  We didn't really have a good reason to go down to the valley or do anything else really, so we just decided to stay home and do a different activity with the kids every day.  It seemed like the best idea, and it ended up being a good idea because Nate and Kayton were suffering from their allergies.  

Monday was more for me and Nate, but we decided to go look at furniture.  I'm in a mood to get my furniture matching and have real decor so we just looked for fun.  The kids actually had a fun time climbing around on beds and trying out the chairs and things.  I figured out what I want for furniture even though I don't know when I'm going to buy them.  

Nate found the new chair he wants

Tuesday, Nate took the boys to a baseball field and taught them a little t-ball.  Kayton is going to play t-ball this summer and I found them their own t-ball gloves and we had a stand and bat and ball so Nate showed them the game a little bit.  I hope it helped Kayton get excited to play this summer.

Wednesday, we went out to Pinedale to have lunch with Grandma Brewer.  We like to go out there every once in a while to check on her and this time we went with our other 2 cousins.  We grilled up some hot dogs and burgers and just had fun enjoying each other.  The boys love to play with her cars and blocks too.  

On Thursday, it was a normal day, but we decided that Thursday night was family movie night in our tent.  We have had this tent for a while and hardly ever use it, but we decided to all lay down and watch a movie in it.  The kids loved it.

Friday and Saturday should have been more fun since I wasn't working those days, but we all were suffering from allergies and just worn out, so it was a stay at home and watch movies kind of day.
I did feel better Saturday night and was able to go to the Women's Conference with my mom and then we went to Subway afterwards.
Definitely not the most exciting Spring Break for us, but we always love having whatever time together.  They boys loved having Daddy home that week and not having to go anywhere.  

Kayton Helping Me Read

After I had my wisdom teeth out, I didn't recover quite as well as I would have liked, but I did try one night reading books to the kids.  I could only read 2 before my mouth hurt too much, so I asked Kayton if he would read to Merrick and he did ever so proudly.  He is such a good big brother and is just getting way too smart for me.  I still feel like he younger than he is, but he is definitely growing up and I need to work on some summer school ideas for us to do together.

Wisdom Teeth

This weekend was a big step in my life.  I had to get my wisdom teeth out.  I had been feeling some pain in the back of my mouth and went to see the dentist.  After the x-rays show then showed me that my bottom wisdom teeth were impacted and I needed to get them out.  She decided to just have them remove all 4 of them at once so that the same thing didn't happen again later.  We got it scheduled and in I went on March 14th.  I felt really good that day and the procedure went like it was suppose to and I thought my recovery wouldn't be too bad.  

That's where I was wrong.  It wasn't the worst experience, but I did get an infection and so I felt like I was addicted to Ibuprofen for about a week and a half.  I got them out on a Friday and then went back to work on Tuesday.   
Nate was so sweet to me that day, he drove me to get a Wendy's frosty right after it was over and brought me home to let me sleep it off.  He did so good taking care of the kids that day and letting me just rest and not talk too much.  KFC was my favorite food that weekend.  Their mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese were amazing.

Just about to go in at the doctors office

Right after the surgery

Here is what I did after.  Nothing too funny or even very interesting, but Nate liked it.

The next day with my brother

4 or 5 days after

It's now a month later and I still have a little soreness and sometimes it feels like it's still bruised.  I also have some pain when I yawn, but I am grateful for the timing in when I got it done and was able to have the funds to pay for it.  I never thought I would have to get my wisdom teeth pulled since they never had a problem, but I guess it's like a right of passage that everyone just has to go through sometime.

Gilbert Arizona Temple Dedication

What a beautiful thing to be a part of today.  The Gilbert Arizona Temple was dedicated and we were able to go to our stake center to be a part of one of the dedicatory sessions.  I wish we would have been able to go down and see the temple in person and walk through for the open house but it just never worked out.  Nate and I definitely want to go do a session there next time we are down in the valley.  The talks were amazing and the spirit was just so strong in the room.  I wish we could have had the kids with us, and it makes me excited for when they are older and we can share these things with them.  

Date night and Symphony

My friend had an idea to have 3 of us mom's do rotate babysitting so all of our kids go to one person's house and the other two couples get to go out on dates.  This was our first date night.  We were able to go to Subway together for dinner which we love.  It's always fun to go out even for a little bit and eat dinner alone with your hubby. 

After dinner, Nate had one of his symphony concerts.  I didn't get to stay for the whole thing, but I did get to go and play with taking pictures with my new camera.  They always do a good job and Nate loves being a part of something like that.