Grandpa and Grandma's visit

William's parents came out for William's 34th birthday. So of course he decided to go to the most expensive restaurant in Phoenix. (Well, I don't really know if it was really THE MOST expensive, but it sure wasn't cheap!) The ambiance was great, although not exactly kid-friendly, and the food was just okay. Great experience. Probably not going back. Ever. 

We drove 2 hours with the family to go to Out of Africa. The kids had a blast seeing all the lions, tigers, rhinos, hyenas, bears, zebras, giraffes, etc. They got to feed the tigers, which was an awesome experience. We also took a bus tour, where we got to feed the giraffes, too. That was actually my favorite part, because the giraffes were not shy at all, and snucked their heads all the way into the bus to get food. 

I'm sad that we're so far away from my parents, my brother, and his family, but I know that they'll make the trip to see us regularly, and we will, too. But I do like the fact that we're now within driving distance (and cheap flights) from Utah, so we can now connect with the Beeston side of the family. The kids have 8 cousins in Utah, and 3 right here in Phoenix. I like that they can get to know them better now and play with them often. We're pretty blessed with how awesome our families are.

Valentine's Day

How do you split yourself into 3??? Well, you can't. At least I haven't figured out how. I was unable to attend Logan's and Taylor's Valentine's Day parties at school. But I did make it to Kendall's. It was cute to see these little buggers singing cute songs for their friends and family. 

The kids were really excited about their Valentine's Day boxes and the Valentines they received from their friends. 

As for me, I got two dozen roses and a box of chocolates. I usually tell William not to bother with the roses, because I can't keep them alive for anymore than a couple of days. But this time, I welcomed the roses, because I haven't been feeling like eating chocolate anyway. The roses died after a couple of days. And the kids ate the chocolates. But it's the thought that counts, even if that thought was prompted a little. Here was my text to William earlier that day, "Hey honey, can you pick up come NiteQuil for the kids while you're at the store getting something for me for Valentine's Day? Thanks. Love you."

Silly Kendall

Oh, where do I start with this girl... I was going through my phone and realized I have a lot of silly pictures of Kendall. She loves to have me take her picture when she makes silly faces. 

This one we took at Walmart around Valentine's Day. She said, "Can you take my picture with this big dog and tell daddy I want this for Valentine's Day?"

We went to the I.D.E.A. Museum and Kendall got ready to get down to work.

She loves to help me cook. Sometimes we end up with egg shells in our food, but hey, that's how she learns... She actually told me the other day that she wants to become a chef when she grows up. I'm cool with that.

Sometimes, I cringe when I see the outfit she put together for the day. This was what she decided to wear to Baya and Viena's birthday party.

Sometimes we wear curlers to bed. It makes the night very uncomfortable, but her hair is so cute the next day. The things girls do to be pretty...

She loves to help with chores. Her favorites are dusting and cleaning the table, but she'll also vacuum, mop, do the dishes, and put the laundry in. Sometimes, or most of the time, I have to redo the chores on Monday, but once again, that's how she learns, so...

Fall picture vs. Spring picture. I'm glad we're paying $260 a month for her to learn how to smile when prompted.

This is what we get when mommy's in charge of picking out the clothes for the day. I would totally wear that outfit, wouldn't you?

I love how patient she is with her homework. My little left-handed girl is quite a genius. My favorite night routine is when she "reads" her books to me. She memorizes her favorite books better than I would.

Sometimes, she poses for pictures, but only when it's on her terms. There's a lot of determination and attitude in that little body of hers.

I love that little stinker. She brightens up my days. She's so loving and caring and cuddly. I can't imagine my life without her in it.

Super daddy

This lucky girl got to go on a daddy-daughter date to Frozen on Ice. She loved it! You can't really tell from the pictures because Miss Kendall doesn't always like to smile when prompted. But she loved every second of the show. And being on the second row was definitely a plus. She often asks if she can go back. Maybe next time I'll taker her :-)

A few days later, as I was puking my guts out and fighting a migraine, William took the kids out to dinner to Joe's crab shack. The kids are not huge seafood lovers, so I kinda thought, "Good luck with that!" But they totally have kid-friendly food. And the kids loved the outside playground. And William called it Joe's party shack, so they all went along with it. Now every time we drive past the place, they all want to go eat there. Haha.

Visit from Bon-Papa and Bonne-Maman

Thankfully, the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful, and I mean that in a good way.
I threw up everything I ate for 2 days straight, and the timing could actually not have been better because I had 2 amazing babysitters at home to entertain the kids. They went to the playground when the weather was nice, and played games inside when the weather got crappy (which hardly ever happens here, but of course it had to happen when my parents are visiting). By Saturday, I was feeling well enough to leave the house and leave the kids with our usual babysitter. So my parents, William, and I hit up Scottsdale on a double date. We went to Citizen Public House for appetizers and Flemings for dinner. I wish I had been feeling better because I would have enjoyed the food so much more. But it was still a very fun double date and we had a good time.
We also had the Williams over for dinner on Sunday. Debbi was the first missionary my parents were introduced to when they were dating and learned about The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I had only seen Debbi twice before. The first time was in Belgium in 1999(-ish), when she brought her husband Cliff to show him where she had served her mission. The second time was a couple of weeks after I moved to Arizona with the children (William was still in Ohio). She had invited us over for dinner at her house, and 5 out of her 6 children and their families were there, too. Everyone had been so nice and welcoming. I had felt like I was a part of their family, and it was really nice. Debbi and Cliff are amazing people. I admire them so much. And hearing Debbi's mission story was really cool, too, even uplifting. I mean, I had heard my dad's version so many times, nearly every time we had missionaries over for dinner, which was at least once a month or two since I was born. I could retell it myself without missing any detail, if I had to. But hearing Debbi's version was like hearing my parents' conversion story for the first time, with different eyes.
We also went to a Belgian waffles restaurant. And the waffles were surprisingly identical to the ones served in the streets of Belgium. At least the way I remember them. It was soooo good, I've had to bring all of our visitors there since then.
Until next time, Mom and Dad...

Hiking with Bon-Papa and Bonne-Maman

Well, we definitely started the New Year with a bang. And by "bang", I mean drama. 

January 1, 2016. We decided to go on a hike in our backyard with Bon-Papa and Bonne-Maman. Everything was going great; the kids were happy, we were happy. On the way back down, William, Bonne-Maman, and the kids were ahead of Bon-Papa and myself. When I got to the bottom, William asked me if Logan and Kendall were with me. At first I thought he was playing a really bad joke on me. Of course they were not with me. Last time I had checked, they were with him! As it turned out, Logan and Kendall were racing down the mountain. When Bonne-Maman asked them to slow down and wait for them, they continued running. Once they got to the bottom of the mountain, Logan and Kendall were nowhere to be found. After the account of what had happened, the first thought that came to our minds was that they had been taken away. So William called the police and started searching the parking lot. Bon-Papa and Bonne-Maman went back up the mountain to see if maybe they had taken a wrong turn. And I ran back home. Our community is gated, so the only way in would have been to slide under the gate or climb over it. I opened the gate and ran to our house. I unlocked the front door, heard running feet, and dropped to my knees. I was overwhelmed with emotions flooding through my entire body. I was relieved. I was thankful. Logan and Kendall had come in through the back door, which we had forgotten to lock when we left the house. When they saw me, on my knees and in tears, I saw confusion in their eyes, then realization in Logan's (still confusion in Kendall's). I hugged them, kissed them, and then explained how worried we had all been. This reminded me that I needed to let everyone else know they were okay, so I called my cell phone from the house phone. The police had shown up in less than 2 minutes to search the area and question hikers. I walked outside to the backyard and could hear people calling Logan's name and Kendall's name. Complete strangers helping us find our children. We let the police and all the nice strangers know that Logan and Kendall was safe and sound, answered some questions from the police, and went back inside the house. 

I will never forget this experience. I had never lost the children until that day. It was scary. I was terrifying. And when we found them, I was filled with gratitude and relief. I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father kept Logan and Kendall safe. And I feel blessed that He answered our silent prayers- mine, William, and my parents'. I also feel thankful for the police who showed up so quickly to help us when we needed them. And I feel thankful for the people who helped us look for our children, genuine, caring, strangers. 

And for the record, we haven't hiked that mountain since this incident.