April had two big themes to it. Family and Puppies. We had so much fun having Rachel and David live in our basement for the month. The kids had a blast. Rachel and I appreciated each other's help. Devon and David I assume enjoyed it all as well. Things were so busy while they got their house ready, David was settling into his new job, and life was just its normal crazy busy for us as well, so it was hard to play as much as we would have liked. We had some great times, though.
One Family Home Evening we did a picture hunt for things we were grateful for. Each person took my phone and took a close up picture of something, then we guessed what it was. Most the zoomed in pictures were pretty tricky, but here are the things we chose. See if you can guess who picked each one:
Bed: Dylan, Basketball hoop: Jayden??, Family: Ethan??, Flashlight: Austin, Geckos: Lauren??, Piano: Mom, Shower: Dad, Temples: Nate??
Ashlyn fell off a kitchen chair just right (or wrong) and split her chin open. It was pretty gaping, so we knew it needed some stitching. I was worried about it scarring pretty bad and wanted a plastic surgeon to fix it up so it would hopefully heal well. We got a name of a good one and called him. They had us text them a picture of it and said if she could sit still well, they would try and glue it. Otherwise she would need to go to the ER and have it done there so she could be sedated. I took her over and she was so good. All the nurses and office ladies and even the doctor thought she was just the cutest thing ever. They had her sit on my lap, and when the doctor did his thing she held perfectly still. She didn't wimper, or cry, or anything. They kept saying she was the toughest 2 year old they had met. They just couldn't get over her (which was fun for me so see their reactions, because I think she's pretty great, too). On our way out, the ladies at the front desk decided they wanted to give her a treat, so they looked through their purses for something and gave her a few things to choose from. She chose a Ghirardelli Chocolate.
Jon graduated from BYU law school. I am so proud of him! He has worked so hard these last few years and he did it!! It was fun to go with most my siblings and my parents to support him.
We have debated for years about getting another dog. We had an awesome black lab named Rex back in 2006, but once I got pregnant with Austin, I just couldn't do it anymore. I wasn't able to spend so much time with him and he got too bored and out of control for us to keep him. He was also too big and still a puppy for the kids to play with. We decided the next time we got a dog it would be smaller, able to be in the house more, and not until our youngest was potty trained. Well, Ashlyn is not potty trained, but our neighbor has a mini labradoodle that just had puppies on April 23. I talked with the owner way back in November or December of last year, just asking about her dog. It happened to be one of the breeds we had considered and she was planning to breed her in February. We really liked that we knew the owner and the temperament of the mom. Lucy is such a good dog. After talking about it and debating, we decided to go for it. She had 6 puppies. Look how cute and tiny they are!
Ethan got glasses. His teacher at school noticed he was having a hard time seeing the board. It was so nice of her to send us a note. We went into the eye doctor and a couple weeks later, here he is with glasses! He has been so excited to realize what he has been missing and be able to see so much more clearly. I remember that feeling when I got my glasses in 4th grade. I was amazed I could see the tips of each individual branch on the trees. Who knew?!
We got to go see the puppies! I wasn't sure if Emily wanted too many visitors so just Ashlyn and I went, but she told me to bring the other kids over later, which we did. It was so fun! They are just 5 days old here. Its going to be so hard to decide which one to pick. We know we want a girl, but there are 5 girls and 1 boy. Plenty to choose from!
Lauren loves In-N-Out. There are so many days she asks if we can go. So, sometimes we do.
Rachel and David invited us to join them on a date to Momentum, a climbing gym. I have never done anything like this, so it was tricky for me. It was fun to watch the things Rachel and David could do. They did some crazy climbs that were almost on the ceiling (but only a few feet off the ground if they did fall). Devon even did some of them too. My hands are not strong enough for those crazy things. But it was fun to be there and have fun with them.
My Favorite Quotes of the Month:
Ashlyn: Look Mom! The sky feels better. Its not windy!
Conversation with Austin and Lauren:
Austin: Who shut the door?
Me: I did.
Lauren: No, Frank did.
Me: Who's Frank?
Lauren: My invisible friend. He's the same age as me.
Me: Oh. What does he lok like?
Lauren: You can't see him, he's invisible! No one can see him.
Ashlyn (when I made her a sandwich with the center cut in a circle to cut off the crusts)(said in a voice that reminds me of Heimlich the caterpillar in A Bug's Life):
Thank you Mommy. It makes me so happy! (She loves to say "it makes me so happy" quite often. It always sounds adorable!)
