St. George

Last week T.J. had a work trip to Las Vegas and so I decided to take the girls and head to good ole St. George! We wanted to make one last trip down to see his mom and dad's house. They are moving back up north in a few weeks! The weather was great and we enjoyed the sunshine. I'm kinda sad that we no longer have a big reason to head down to St. George anymore and I will miss the fun trips. But on the bright side of things Grandma Kim and Grandpa Danny are going to be 20 minutes away instead of 5 hours away! I didn't snap very many pictures but here are some at the water park on main in St. George. It is quite the cute and fun water park. I didn't bring Olivia's swimsuit so she decided to take off all her clothes. Yes that's my naked, saggy diapered child. Yes one day she will wear panties well that's what I keep telling myself to feel better:) Anyways we had lots of fun with Grandma Kim and Aunt Kenzie! Also Olivia loved playing with her cousin Braylee while down there.

Easter

Well even though it has been just about a month since Easter I still have to post. It was a very low key Easter this year. Since Olivia had her tonsils out a few days before and my mom was in the hospital there wasn't a lot going on. The Easter bunny was very thoughtful of Olivia's sore throat and didn't give her any candy or eggs filled with candy. Instead she found eggs that had play dough in them. She had a fun time finding the eggs and pulling everything out of her basket. Since Olivia was still healing she wasn't able to go to church but of course she had to put on her new dress.

This year we tried to explain to Olivia what Easter is and why we really celebrate the holiday. She still doesn't quite grasp it and it will probably be a while until she understands the meaning behind Easter. I'm grateful for the gifts that our Savior gave us. I can't imagine how it would be without the atonement. I know that this gospel is true and that we will be able to return to our Heavenly Father again.

Olivia's Tonsillectomy

After months and months of sickness, strep, choking, and breathing problems at night Olivia has finally gotten rid of her tonsils. It was a long time coming and was desperately needed. Olivia had surgery last year at this time having tubes put in her ears and her adenoids taken out and so I was familiar with the process. However no matter if you've gone through it before it still is hard and emotional to see your child in pain.

The night before she went in for surgery my mom was admitted to the hospital for heart problems due to an over amount of stress. I'm a very emotional person as it is but due to the two events happening within hours of each other put me over the top. Seeing Olivia after surgery was heart breaking and at the same time frustrating. She was so out of it and mad. She was yelling at us to put her down and wouldn't hold still. I don't like seeing her that way at all. After a little while they gave her morphine which calmed her down and put her to sleep. The first day home was really stressful and tiring. She wouldn't eat or drink anything and she was in so much pain. Luckily the next few days were alright and she did fairly well with fluids. On day four and five it was a nightmare. She was so whinny and clingy which isn't a big deal but since I have the baby to take care of also it was very exhausting. But we made it through the week and she was doing amazingly better by Thursday. I'm so glad that we had them take her tonsils out! She is already eating better and she is happier! She is talking up a storm and you can tell that her breathing is improved. I wish I could say she was sleeping better but unfortunately I haven't seen and improvements. So glad it is over with and we can enjoy a healthier, happier Olivia! She was such a brave little girl at the hospital. She didn't cry when they took her away in the red little wagon. She just looked at us and told us goodbye:) The pictures below are of her asleep under the desk where I happen to be working. She wouldn't lay in her bed so she decided to rest by my feet.

From Old to NEw

Okay so Here is Olivia's dresser that we got from a friend's grandma. I had a before picture but I can't seem to find it. So use your imagination and think of how it looked like before. It was a dark brown wood color with gold handles on it. I painted it pink and painted the handles white. For only a few bucks Olivia now has her very own one of a kind dresser!

Virginia Caramel apple salad

Okay so here is my wonderful sister-in-law's recipe. She found this when living in Virginia a few years ago and has been making it since. It is very delicious!

Virginia Caramel Apple Salad

5 large or 7 smaller granny smith Apples (cut up with skin)
20 oz crushed pineapple (drained well, save juice)
20 Kraft caramels, cut into small pieces (Now they have caramel bits in the baking aisle, next to the chocolate chips.)
2 cups dry roasted, salted peanuts
8 oz cool whip
2 Tbls corn starch
1 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs

Mix cornstarch, sugar eggs and pineapple juice in saucepan. Cook and stir til thick and bubbly. Cool well. Pour cooled mixture into serving bowl. Add cool whip and fold together. Add first four ingredients. Fold to mix. Garnish with nuts and caramel.

Note***This salad does not store well--But we usually don't have leftovers anyway.

Amelia was blessed on April 10Th by her wonderful father. T.J. gave Amelia such an amazing blessing. I'm grateful for T.J. and his worthiness to hold the priesthood. I have such wonderful family and friends that came and supported us on this special day. I love to see all the men that we know stand in the circle and participate in the blessing. Such a special moment.

Amelia was really fussy before the blessing and the rest of the meeting but during the blessing she was a quite as could be. Amelia is such a sweet little baby that is so smiley. She has her fussy time of day, every day but for the most part she has become a good tempered baby.

Thank you to all that came and supported us. Our house was packed to the brim with people but it was still great to have everyone there. My little sister Abby made Amelia a beautiful cake. She always does such a wonderful job. WE had lots of yummy treats and salads that everyone brought. I will be posting some of the recipes that you all wanted on here shortly.

So Sick....

Last week over conference weekend Olivia came down with Strep.. Poor thing was soo sick! I haven't seen her that sick ever! She had a temp. consistently for five days that didn't go below 101. She couldn't breath very well or talk because of her tonsils and stuffy nose. She didn't sleep for days. I felt so bad for her and I wanted to make all her pain go away:( We took her to her pediatrician and he gave her an antibiotic but after three days of no improvement we had to get her on a new one. We also took her to the ENT to look at her tonsils and they were so big and infected. He said that they needed to be taken out as soon as possible. I hate to have to see her so sick but I think her getting this sick was the last straw to them taking her tonsils out. I'm pretty sure it isn't going to be very fun for quite a while but in the end I know she will be a happier and healthier little girl.

I took these a few days after she had already been on the antibiotic and she still looks so miserable and sick:(