Weston's mom and sister came to visit us the second week of October for about 4.5 days. It's always nice to have visitors and we were happy that Lacey finally decided to come visit us for the first time since we moved from Utah almost 9 years ago! We know she really came for Misty but its ok, we still love her anyway. ;)
She brought along her little girl Astoria. It was our first time meeting her and she sure is a sweetheart. It was fun for me to see little girl things spread about the house while they were here. We were so happy to get to spend time with them all. As you can see we took them to our favorite place - The Beach!
"spear fishing"
Sand Castles
The weather was perfect.
I was still recovering from surgery so I just relaxed with Oliver all day.
It was a really nice break for us all.
This was Oliver's first time at the beach. He loved it.
Getting to know Ya Ya.
Can you tell Astoria know's exactly what a camera is? She's a diva alright!
She was so cute in her little ruffle suit and sun hat. :)
The last day they were here I talked Lacey into going on a walk with me. Jan & Weston went on a gas station run for drinks. Weston was dying from thirst and claimed he could not walk without a Diet Dr Pepper. They came and found us and offered us treats and beverages. Jan got out and walked with us from there and Weston joined us by driving along side us at 2 mph.
Yes, Jan was mooning the camera but lacked the courage to drop her drawers in day light. The next day we took them to see the Houston Temple but we had to bribe Jan with candy bars to keep her lady like manners in check. ;) Thanks for coming out Jan & Lacey! We sure enjoyed your visit!
A few days before my surgery, Weston's car was in the shop being repaired and
I took the boys for a fun cruise in our rental.
I wanted to squeeze in a date with them before the big day.
We had a blast!
Warren has always been a pretty serious kid but the older he gets the more his sense of humor and playfulness shines brighter. This was one of those moments I accidentally caught on video.
He makes me smile.
(Video only available on the blog)
We drove around for over and hour and a half rocking out. Then,
went through the drive through at Chik-Fil-A for ice cream. :)
Just before my surgery Weston snapped this picture just in case I died.
Nice, huh?
Even though I passed my stress test prior to surgery we were both pretty nervous to say the least.
I am smiling only because he was being a goof and told me he thought
I looked hot in this hospital gown.
I am so grateful for all his support through everything!
Speaking of cheerleaders? This 3 month old little boy has been an ANGEL sent from heaven!
I think I gave him about 1 million kisses this day. :)
Getting surgery is a funny thing. I have had three c-sections but was always awake during each. I had never been put all the way out before. I was way nervous of course because of all my heart stuff but man once the anesthesia set in..... life was AWESOME!! The anesthesiologist said he was going to give me a little martini and then they'd roll me into surgery. Well, that is the last thing I remember! They claimed that I was talking and moved myself onto the surgical table and all...but I don't remember any of it! I just remember waking up in recovery with the most peaceful feeling EVER. It was fantastic!
I have actually dreamed about that moment, since. Is that bad? ha ha
Well Dr Quast, my 79 year old surgeon, said the surgery went well although it did end up taking about an hour longer than he had expected. He said that my gallbladder had many adhesions from having MANY gallbladder attacks therefore he had to do a lot more cutting to get the darn thing out! Well, all I can say is I think that thing was acting up for a long time and it was sucking the life out of me! I also didn't have any bradycardia (heart rate dropping) issues during the surgery which is a HUGE relief! All I can say is I feel SO much better since having that darn thing out! My back pain is gone and my energy has quadrupled! I am so grateful for a healthy body!
This is where it gets ridiculous. You know how they say trouble comes in threes? Well, the day after my surgery Warren ended up at the ER getting stitches from cutting the bread that we asked him not to cut. This was the picture Weston texted me as I was trying to figure out how I would pick up Benjamin who had just cried "mommy I'm not feeling very good"....
This was him for the next two days. I have never seen him so sick.
I guess it was a blessing? Despite the continual fever and vomit, he was more subdued than usual those days. Weston was back at work and I just sort of hobbled back and forth with the bucket.
We were a pathetic site! lol I am so grateful this is all over!
Speaking of gratitude, over the last 4 months my life has been filled with blessings and many angels around us to help us through a physically and emotionally exhausting time. My husband to name the first, a few family members and lots of wonderful friends.
The Lord has taken care of us. I worried before I had the baby about having the help I needed, when I needed it. As people have visited, baby sat, brought delicious and creative meals, smiles, hugs, a listening ear, baby gifts, flowers, encouragement, yummy bread & elbows ready to clean....I have been absolutely filled with gratitude. Each time I have a baby I keep a "Thank You" list so I don't forget to send off a note to each person. It is humbling to look at the list as it grew...day by day. I had a large box of Thank You's and ran out of cards! I am so grateful for the wonderful examples of integrity, unconditional love and support around us. It is these Christlike examples I want to follow and pay forward throughout my life. We are blessed. :)
In September Opa (Weston's dad) came to Texas for work and
he was here for 3 weeks.
During the week days he was gone but
we were lucky to get to spend the weekends with him.
We blessed Oliver while he was here and the boys were especially
happy to have him around to be silly with. :)
Opa & Oliver getting to know each other.
Ollie was about 2 months here.
There was never a quiet moment.
As soon as he would sit down on the couch the boys
would pile on, one by one, and snuggle up.
He even let them play angry birds on his ipad. :)
While he was here he helped Weston with a few projects around the house. They fixed the leaky tub, which turned into an all day project, nearly breaking the tub! ;) He also helped clean/snake out our dryer vent. What a grose job! It was taking us a minimum of 2-3 cycles to dry garments and this is why!!
It was packed with lint and all kinds of stuff you really don't want to hear about.
The important part is that it is fixed and we can now dry a load of towels in 1 cycle! Thanks Lynn!
We really appreciate your help!
******************
Also in September, Benjamin finally had his
surgery for meetal stenosis!
We had scheduled it a few times.
I was nervous about him having to be put under
and in the process of rescheduling the doctor told me that he often
can do the surgery with older kids with only partial sedation.
So, we coached and bribed him
with a trip to Toys-R-Us and wah-lah!
He braved it like a champ!
Here he is in the waiting room. I am certain I was more nervous than he was but he did great.
He was really sore for about 5 days. Each time he had to potty we had to sit in a warm bath tub to ease the stinging. We felt so bad for the little man.
When you enter the surgical unit of Texas Children's Hospital there are these tap dancing rhinestone cows ("Fred Asteer" and "Ginger Udders" I think). Anyways, when Benjamin saw them he ran up to them in awe and said "Mom, these are AMMMMAZING!" and insisted I take his picture by them. So there you have it. The iphone picture doesn't really do them justice... but they were very sparkly! ;)
Halloween was great this year. We haven't had a family theme for a few years but the boys really wanted to be characters from Peter Pan so after a full week of sewing, nursing and completely neglecting my house..... I present to you.....
Warren as Peter Pan...
Ben as Cap'n Hook...
Ben was so good! He wore his "hook hair" the entire night and the trunk or treat and on Halloween! It took some serious pirate spin on my part but thankfully he bought it! ;)
Oliver as Smee...
I had already bought him a Pea in the Pod costume but they insisted.
I admit. I loved the idea!
I was Wendy...
Friday, at the ward trunk or treat, we even got Weston to be the crocodile!
It's the first time he has dressed up for halloween in 8 years! We were so excited! lol
I just love my boys. Don't they look awesome!?
Before Stake Conference on Saturday, we went to Zoo Boo at the Houston Zoo with our friends the Kiefers. It is always so much fun. They have all kinds of fun activities, trick or treating and a free pumpkin patch. This year they had an amazing dance company come and host a dance stage. They had AMAZING costumes and taught the kids the thriller dance. It's a little hard to see but most of the professional dancers where on the front row.The tall things in the back are giraffes on stilts.
Our friends the Keifers wore their costumes to Zoo Boo. Needless to say they were a very popular act at the Zoo. I think we had about 400 people comment on their costume. "Oh, look (followed by a gasp, giggle or jump) their a SMORE! It was pretty funny!
As you can see, the boys had a fun day.
Warren's 1st Grade Class at the Costume Parade
Sitting by his "friend who is a girl" Kloey. ;)
They have become quite the little buddies and often have play dates.
He told me he was excited to see her in her costume because he thought she would look beautiful. :)
Last month we took a little labor day weekend getaway to visit our good friends the Anderson's in Austin and Weston's sister (and fam) in College Station. After a lame summer filled with the end stages of pregnancy, having the new little one c-section and complications wazoo...
we thoroughly enjoyed our time away.
Swimming at Barton Springs with the Anderson's.
Oliver had his first little dip.
It was so hot...I felt bad for the little man.
If anyone knows Weston....they know that when he gets hot, he gets grumpy. After the springs we went to eat at the Hula Hut...a restaurant right on Lake Austin. Still a little grumpy we ordered and when the waitress brought Weston his beverage in this larger than life glass.....
all grumpiness dispelled and he was oh SO happy. It's the simple things. :)
The Hula Hut
Picking out our future boat parking space at the dock on Lake Austin.
In Austin, under the congress street bridge lives the largest bat colony in the US. At peak season, which is the end of August, there are anywhere from 750,000 - 1 million bats which live underneath. We have been waiting to take the boys since last summer and smokes was it worth the wait! It was one of the coolest things we have seen in a very long time. It was amazingly magical. Check out the video below. :)
Watching the bats fly underneath.
Here is the video- If you are receiving this via email you need to go to our blog to watch it. This video is a little small so if you watch it on YouTube you will be able to see the clouds of bats better. :)
NEXT STOP was the BIG TOP candy shop. Yes, it too was magical. Any candy you could ever think of plus 100 times more. In addition to a full service ice cream and soda parlor, fine chocolates and old fashioned shaved ice. We spent a ridiculous $28 on candy but it was worth it.
I was so bummed. I had been looking forward to getting my delicately shaved ice but when we got there they were out. We thought of you Ronna and then we came back the next morning to get our fix! :)
Next stop was onto Larry & Misty's house in College Station. Weston had been there helping them unpack their truck but it was me and the boys first time. We had a fun Whataburger picnic under a shady tree at the George Bush Museum and had fun walking around seeing the sights.
Cute cousins.
Mayson loves little Oliver and snuggled him every chance she could.
It was so great spending time with friends and family.
Just read this Winnie the Pooh book the other day with my boys:
"Some days can be kind of bland,
For reasons we don’t understand.
And so we droop and slump along,
Not knowing how to fix what’s wrong.
No activity’s appealing, While we have that ho-hum feeling.
Then friends arrive and ring the bell,
And just like magic—all is well!
Oh, how wonderful life can be
When instead of 'I', there is a 'we'.”
I love it and it is so very true. Life is much better when shared. (:
On September 11th we had the opportunity to bless Oliver! I finished his blessing outfit just in time and thought it turned out precious. I have made all my boys blessing outfits from the same basic pattern but each one is a little different. I make them each out of white linen. For O's I added a collar and pockets. I also had it monogrammed on the front. Weston gave a really thoughtful blessing and we were happy to be able to share that special day with close friends and family. Weston's dad was here from Utah and his sister Misty and family drove down from college station as well.
Priesthood in the circle:
Weston Hall, Lynn Hall, Larry Kalke, Kevin Fronk, Jereck Boss,
Scott Challburg, Rico Maranto, Elder Hunt & Elder Axtel.
Oliver was a perfect gentleman during the blessing.
He is such a sweet boy and we are so grateful to have him in our family. :)
Afterward, the cousins ran around crazy, eating like hungry monkeys and
gave our play structure a serious run for its money. :)
