Our trip to Idaho!

*****WARNING*****
THIS IS BY FAR THE LONGEST POST I HAVE EVER CREATED IN MY HISTORY OF BLOGGING! I DO REALIZE THAT NOT EVERYONE CARES ABOUT EVERY DETAIL-BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I WROTE IT ALL DOWN TO REMEMBER OUR FUN TRIP TO IDAHO!

We just got back from our trip to Idaho! We love it there so much during the summer and always have such a fun time! This year with Jonathan's schedule we were only able to stay for a week which was WAY too short so we jam packed it all in! Here is a breakdown of our trip... ************************************************************************************* On Saturday night we drove from Provo straight to Bone, Idaho where the annual Holley Family Reunion was going on. Josh and Joni (Jonathan's brother and wife) were SO nice to pack us all the stuff we would need to camp for the night. It was so beautiful and had the most awesome lodge with nice bathrooms(my way of camping)! And although quite a few people had already packed up and headed home it was still so fun to see a few familiar faces that we hadn't seen in a while. Our kids got to see most of their cousins and aunts and uncles there-which of course is always the highlight! That next morning we got permission to have sacrament meeting-which was so special! It was so much fun and I'm so glad we got to go! Then on Sunday afternoon we drove back to Idaho Falls to Josh and Joni's house (where we stayed), got all showered and cleaned up and then got together with most of Jonathan's brothers and sisters and their families-which always consists of LOTS of kids and LOTS of laughing!
************************************************************************************* On Monday we met my mom at the ISU extension in Idaho Falls where she teaches all sorts of science classes. She had the microscopes all set up for the kids to look at all sorts of cool and gross things. They soak up every minute with her and love to learn all the "stuff" she teaches them. Isaac told me that he LOVES science and wants to do it everyday! After "doing science" we went to lunch with my mom and then we were off to the river to feed the ducks with Josh and Joni, their kids and Kelly and her girls. After feeding the ducks we drove to Shelley and ate dinner with the Anderson's-who are some of my very best friends and who I actually lived with for a while in high school. It was soooo nice to catch up and watch our kids play together! I wish Melissa and her family and Katie could have been there...hopefully we can catch them next time! ************************************************************************************* On Tuesday we went to Ross Park in Pocatello. The kids LOVED swimming and going down the water slide with their cousins. Then that night we met up with 3 of Jonathan's best friends from high school and their wives-Kyle and Odelsa Taylor, Ron and Katrina Jensen and Ben and Holli Ritchie. We didn't take any pictures, but had the best time talking, laughing and of course eating! After we got home and rounded up all of our kids to go to bed, we quickly remembered that they had long naps after the water park. So we decided to put on a movie and see if any of them would fall asleep. Jonathan and Josh were in charge and I went to go feed Isabel and get ready for bed. When I came back, some of them had fallen asleep...but as you can tell from the picture...it wasn't any of the kids :)! ************************************************************************************* Wednesday we drove out to Shelley again to see my mom's new house and eat lunch. She had a whole box of special crowns that she let Ally choose from-she even let Ally pick one for Isabel and one for me-I think that I liked trying them on more than Ally! After we left my mom's we drove straight to the movie theater to see "Kung Fu Panda" (I seriously LOVE this movie!) with a few of the cousins. After the movie ended we went to the county fair to see a few things our two nieces (Bailee & Macee) had entered. While we were there we also walked through the cow and pig barns-it was hilarious to watch all these little kids plugging their noses and screaming "EWWWW" the whole time. After the fair we met up with my mom again to go to the zoo-she's been volunteering there for the summer and so we were excited to go with her. The monkeys were by far my favorite part! One of the monkeys love our brother-in-law, Brooks-it was the funniest thing ever! Everywhere Brooks would go, the monkey would follow and if he ever turned his back the monkey would hit the glass and scare everyone. One time Jonathan the monkey hit the glass really hard right by Jonathan and it scared him so bad that he jumped and somehow really hurt his toe in all of the commotion. We were all laughing so hard. After the zoo I got to go out to eat with one of my very best friends, Michelle Ball. She is one of the most amazing people I've ever met and I love seeing her when I come to town. Jonathan says it always recharges our whole family when I visit her! While I was at dinner Jonathan's brother Jeremy and his wife Kelly had a hot tub party at their house. They sure know how to have a party and when I showed up late after dinner-it really seemed like an amusement park-everyone was having the BEST time! Then that night Isaac and Jaden decided to sleep in the "fort" while Jonathan and Josh slept outside under the stars. Surprising enough..they all made through the whole night-through the rain and all!!
*************************************************************************************
On Thursday we had a picnic lunch at Tautphaus Park. We met up with Josh and his kids, Jeremy and Kelly and their girls, Betsy and her girls and Mattie and Colby. The kids just loved playing. This is a funny picture of Ally in a swing made for a disabled adult. She had no idea what it was-but thought it was very, very cool! We also took the kids and their cousin Jaden to "Funland" to each go on a ride-it's certainly no Disneyland-but the loved it anyway!!





After the park we went to my aunt Janelle's house to visit her and my cousins. It's always fun to show off my 4 cute kids to family who don't get to see them very often!! Then that night we enlisted some of our nieces to babysit while all of Jonathan's brother's and sister's and their spouses (except for Jason and Jen and Jamison) went out to a yummy dinner at The Sandpiper.
*************************************************************************************
Friday was Jaden's 5th birthday party. We were so excited that we could be there this year!! Jaden is Isaac's best bud in the whole world-he's lucky that he's also his cousin-and we never get to be there for his birthday. We were so glad that Joni planned it a little early this year (Thanks!!) so that Isaac could be there. Jaden got to come all the way to AZ for Isaac's birthday this year also-how lucky they are! It was such a cute little party for a bunch of scurvy pirates!!


After the week we had...we were all completely BEAT!! But knowing that it was our last day in Idaho-we had to go out with a bang! So Josh, Jeremy and Jonathan all loaded up the jetskiis and took them for a spin. Then later that night we all got together again for one final goodbye party! I LOVE being married into a family that has so many "party animals"-there is NEVER a dull moment!
*************************************************************************************
Early Saturday morning we loaded up and drove to Provo to spend the rest of our short trip with my Grandma Mary. Our kids love visiting her house and playing in her yard. Ally especially loves her flowers and they all love to pick apricots in the church yard behind her house. She'll be 89 years old this month and she still managed to get out some of her old things when she use to teach school and play with my kids!

*************************************************************************************
By 6am on Sunday morning we were on the road back to Arizona. We had the BEST time! We love our families and friends and cherish all the times we get to spend with them-it was way too short of a visit and went by way too fast! We can't wait until next time!!

I look like my dad!

Jonathan and two of his brothers all had baby girls born within about 9 months of eachother. The funny thing is that they are ALL spitting images of their dads!! Here is Jonathan & Isabel, Jeremy & Sammy and Josh & Sahara. It's a good thing their dad's are all so cute themselves!

What can you learn from a 6yr. old?

Last night Jonathan went to play volleyball at our church building (although he shouldn't have with a torn ACL). We all decided to go and watch since we had nothing better to do..like pack for Idaho :). We were sitting on the sidelines and Ally noticed a little girl about her age sitting over a ways by herself. Ally asked me if she could go and talk to her and make a new friend. I of course told her that she could knowing that it always takes a little extra bravery for Ally to step out of her comfort zone. Ally asked Isaac if he wanted to go make a new friend also since there was a little boy about his age. So over they walked. I watched as Ally smiled and kind of crouched down to where the girl was sitting. I see the little girl's mouth seem to say, "These are all mine" as she swiped everything around her in closer. Then I see Ally smile and a few more words exchanged. I then see the little boy talking to Isaac and watch as Isaac hangs his head like he is sad and Ally gives him a hug. I yelled for the two of them to come back to me. Here is our coversation:

Me: Was that little girl rude? (What I really wanted to say was..Is that girl an icredible BRAT who needs her mouth washed out with soap and hard spanking?-but I didn't)
Ally: Well, she was kind-of nice because when I smiled at her, she smiled at me.
Me: Did she say, "These are all mine!"?
Ally: Yeah, she said that we can't touch any of her stuff.
Me: Oh, so what did you say?
Ally: I asked her if she wanted to be friends with me.
Me: Well, what did she say?
Ally: She said, "No, I already have friends!"
Me: (Clinching my fists and looking around for who on earth the mother could be of this insanely RUDE child!) Well, you should have said, "That is rude and if you behave like that no one will want to be your friend!". Isaac, what happened to you?
Isaac: That little boy says he likes pirates more than me!
Me: Well, that was rude-I'm sorry!
Ally: Those kids were acting like bullies.
Me: Yes they were and if I was their mom, I would wash their mouths out with soap.
Ally: I knew you would! They just probably act that way because someone acted that way to them. If we are nice to them, then they will turn nice.
Me: (Trying not to ball my eyes out) You are right!

Lesson Learned: You can learn a lot more than just eating habits from a 6yr. old!

M&M's and Applesauce

The other night we told the kids they could choose something for dessert. The boys wanted some M&M's, and Ally chose applesauce. She is so funny about always wanting to chose "healthy" things to eat. Whenever I give her choices of what she wants to eat she always asks "Well, what is the healthiest?". The other night for Family Home Evening we wanted to get take-out and come home and watch a movie. Jonathan and I have been wanting to try Fat Burger. When Ally heard the name of the restaraunt, she informed us that she DID NOT want a "fat burger"! We tried explaining it all to her, but she was not having it. She remembered that there was a Subway close by and said she wanted that instead. We normally don't let the kids pick and choose...but I'd probably rather them have a fresh sandwich than a greasy hamburger anyway. So there we all sat, Jonathan and I with our big burgers and Ally, Isaac and Austin with their healthy sandwiches. She cracks me up!

Hey Dad Look! It's a real PIRATE!!

We were in Target today in the checkout when Isaac says, "Hey Dad, look! It's a real pirate!". Of course it was in a very loud voice and his finger pointed high in the air. When we looked at what he was pointing at...we saw a man who looked similar to this! I guess to a 4 yr. old a "durag" (yes, I looked up the spelling) looks an awful lot like a pirate bandanna. Luckily the man had a kid of his own that he was too busy attending to and didn't notice ours! Apparently Isaac just noticed that we live in Phoenix where "pirates" like those are a dime a dozen.

Pool Fun

We've been having tons of fun in our pool this summer!! We go swimming just about every day..and love it! There is no other way to beat this hot Arizona sun than by being in the pool! Our favorite days are the ones Jonathan has off and can come play with us. The mom in our house just isn't as much fun!! She can't do chicken fights... or aerials! I also had to post these videos of our kids swimming and doing their tricks! Austin is hilarious in that he refuses to wear his floaties...he thinks he is just one of the big kids! It's so funny to watch his little body just bail off the side and swim!!

A fun Visit!

When we first moved to Arizona 5 years ago, Jonathan's cousin Salina, her husband Clay and their triplets lived in Mesa. We would try to get to get together at least once a month-sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. We LOVED having them so close and getting together often-it made being away from our own families a little more bearable. It was a sad day when they moved to Boise for work and to be a little closer to their families (we're still trying to get them to come back). They came to visit last week-it's been over a year since we'd last seen them! It was so much fun to see them and meet their 2 newest little ones. We met at some of thier really good friends house and AWESOME pool. Our kids had such a fun time jumping off the cliffs and playing in the waterfalls! I'm so mad that I didn't take any pictures of their family, but I did manage to get a picture of our kids on the rocks. It was such a fun night!

2 Months Already!!

It's hard to believe Isabel is already 2 months old!! And true to form of our kids she is chubbing right up! I guess she fits the mold! She is very alert, smiles and coos all the time, is starting to really hold her head up and is still just a very easy, content baby! Here are her stats:

Height: 22 inches (50th%)
Weight: 11 lbs. 14 oz. (75th%)
Head: 15 1/2 (50th%)

The Nighttime Cruiser

Austin seriously cracks me up all day-I think this age is hilarious! He's finally figured out how to get out of his crib-I'm just glad it took him as long as it did!! At first it wasn't really a big deal, but lately when it's bedtime he gets out all the time! Even as I'm writing this post, I've already had to put him back to bed twice!! And every time he gets in a little more trouble. But for some reason every time he gets out he thinks that if he just acts like nothing is wrong that I'm not going to notice. Sometimes he comes out wearing sunglasses or like just now he had put his shoes on and was just cruising around without a worry in the world. He doesn't even really try to hide it-he'll just try to walk right pass me without even a smirk. Every time I put him back in bed and have to get after him I have to go in the other room and laugh a little. Usually the past few nights or so have ended with him screaming in his crib until he finally gives up and goes to sleep (it's like he's a tiny baby again!). However last night this is how I found him in my bed when Jonathan and I finally went to bed. It was so, so precious!! I love watching my kids sleep and even more, I love it when they are snuggled up next to me sleeping-so it was really hard for me to put this little guy back in his own bed! What a funny little boy he is!

Isabel Eva's Namesake

We always knew that if we ever had another little girl we wanted to use the name "Eva". Jonathan's grandmother on his dad's side is Eva Capson Manwaring. She has always been such a huge influence in his life. Although I haven't known her for as long..I know she is an amazing person and example. When Jonathan was younger she would have "Cousin's Week" where all the cousins in a certain age group would get to come and stay at thier grandparents house all week with tons of activities that she had planned. Every morning they were in charge of a devotional...what great memories he has from those! She also would take every grandchild to General Conference once they turned eight-which is truly something since she has over 50!! We find ourselves often talking about Grandma Eva and asking..."what would she do?" whenever we may not have an answer. She is such a strong and righteous woman.

The other Grandma Eva who Isabel is named after is my mother's grandma on her mother's side, Eva Ruth Stephenson Johnson. Although she passed away before I was born and so I never got to meet her, I know she was an equally amazing woman. She was one of my mom's very favorite people and she often would tell us stories about her. She was such a strong influence in my mom's life. Every summer my mother would go and spend a lot of time on her grandparent's farm. I'm sure that this is where my mom developed her STRONG love for animals and her work ethic along with her desire for knowledge. While she would spend time on the farm her grandmother was constantly teaching her how take care of animals and also the value of hard work. My mom would always talk about her grandmother and how much she loved spending time with her.

We love the name Eva and the significance that the name has to us. We hope that one day Isabel Eva will possess many of the same characteristics of her great and great/great grandmothers!

The picture is of Isabel meeting her Great Grandma Eva for the first time-what a sweet picture to have! And the video is just a cute one of her cooing and wiggling-so I posted it also!

4th of July Fun

The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite times of year..I LOVE it!! For both Jonathan's and my families-it's some of our favorite childhood memories. It's also the day that I knew I was going to marry Jonathan when we watched fireworks together for the first time. I love having a day that we celebrate our independence and able to reflect on how blessed we are to live in this country! It's also the one time of year I LOVE being in Idaho! But of course now that we're in residency-that can't happen. So we decided to try and make the best of it and have as much fun as we could in 112 degree weather, no parades and no lighting our own fireworks! Jonathan got off early on the 3rd and had the 4th completely off, so we decided to stay at an awesome resort only about 10 minutes from our house. We were so glad that my sister Jess, her husband Brad and baby Tanner came with us. We had so much fun swimming all night and all day, eating yummy poolside food and sleeping in a hotel! It was hot, but we were able to stay a little bit cooler by being in the pool. Uncle Brad brought his underwater camera and we even got video of Isabel going under-and she didn't even cry! After we were done swimming we all got ready and went to a Diamondbacks baseball game. It was so much fun! You can't get much more "All-American" than watching a baseball game on the 4th of July. Austin kept saying that he didn't want to watch...he wanted to play-it was so cute. The best part of the game (for me at least) was when it ended they retracted to roof of the ballpark and had an amazing firework show-it was seriously AWESOME! We really all had the best time-what a great 4th of July! We had such a fun vacation-and we only had to go 10 minutes away!!

Photo Shoot

I have been the worst blogger ever!! We've just been having a really fun, low key summer and LOVING every minute of it! Lots of swimming, reading (to the kids), eating yummy food and just being together. We just recently had all the kids pictures taken.


Isabel is 1 month old in these...today she just turned 7 weeks-time really does FLY by! She is still a super easy baby and we are all loving her. She still just sleeps a lot during the day but has 4 sets of eyes that just watch for the slightest sign of her waking so we can get her up and play with her. She has started to smile a TON-she especially smiles and talks to her dad whenever he holds her-she makes me work a little harder for a smile. She is so sweet!! We still think she looks a lot like Isaac. I don't have my camera, so I can't post any recent pics...but hopefully soon.


Austin seems to have grown up so much these past few weeks! He can now swim without his floaties and thinks it is the coolest thing ever. Literally 5 days ago he went from never wanting to take his floaties off to barreling off the side without them. It is the most hilarious thing you've ever seen. As soon as I get my camera I'll post a video. He still has to figure out how to take a breath-but that will come. He also just went to the bathroom in the toilet for the 1st time today-WHOOO HOO!! He just has his own little mind and ideas of when he wants to do things and when he makes up his mind-watch out!! He keeps us all laughing for sure!


Isaac also seems extra grow-up lately too. He is such a funny little boy. He is such a tender little boy. Just today a bird flew into our window-he was so worried about it and just could not stop thinking about it-I think he's said 3 prayers that it would be OK. He's not loving swimming lessons because he says the water is too cold-but he never complains or says he doesn't want to go. Yesterday he informed me that there was a boy-girl in his class. When I asked him what he meant he told me that there was a kid in his class that was part boy and part girl. When I asked him why he said it was because it was a girl who was wearing a spiderman swimsuit. Finally I saw who he was talking about-I thought I would die laughing (not at the little kid, but just at Isaac's perception). A little boy with VERY long hair and a "pretty" face was wearing a spiderman swimsuit-probably confusing for a little 4 yr old! Although he didn't act confused at all, he was perfectly content with his explanation that it was a boy-girl-so funny!


Ally has been the BIGGEST help and best little second mother. She still just loves helping with house chores. Every morning she gets up and is so excited to do her assigned chores and always has them all done before I get up-she also always helps remind Isaac-it's soooo nice!! She is LOVING swimming lessons and is really pretty good. She won the back float competition and the little races in her class. She makes the comment to Isaac when he says the water is too cold, "Isaac, the water is cold for me too, but don't you like learning new things?". She just loves it. She is also loving reading time and NEVER lets me forget. She keeps us all doing just what we should and somehow manages to do it all with being so sweet and kind! We love these sweet little kids-how blessed we are!!

Also, big news in our house..JONATHAN IS NO LONGER AN INTERN!! I guess that really just means that he's done with his first year of residency..but we are excited! The next 2 years are suppose to be a lot easier-we'll see?? Today was his first day as a "second year" resident and he left at 6am for a 30hr shift-not the best way to start off, but we know it will get better! Hopefully I'll be better at blogging the rest of the summer and not fall victim of the "lazy days"!

Apostles and Knock Knock Jokes

We got an email with this apostle song and our kids LOVE it! They want to listen to it ALL the time and they both have finally memorized it. I think it is especially funny when Isaac sings it because you can't really tell what he is singing unless you know the words-but he really has it memorized!! The video of Austin is him telling his own version of the Knock, Knock joke where you keep saying "banana" until the very end when you say "orange you glad I didn't say banana?". He heard me tell it to them one day and now he loves doing it...so cute!

The Laughing Quads

Is this not the most hilarious thing ever?! I saw this on one of my sister's friend's blog and I thought I would die laughing! How fun to have 4 laughing babies laying on you!!

Isabel's Blessing

We blessed Isabel on Sunday. It was a beautiful day for such a sweet baby girl! Jonathan was coming off the night shift and although he had only gotten about 2 hours of sleep the night before-he did an amazing job (as always). I always love the day of my children's blessings. I love to listen to the blessings of happiness and peace that are given to them. Isabel was so sweet and calm (she always is) and was wide awake for the whole blessing. We were so glad that Jonathan's 2 sisters, Monicka and Betsy were here with their kids-they always make things so much fun! Jess, Brad and Tanner also came which we were also so glad about. We'll be excited to go to Tanner's blessing this coming Sunday-it's so fun to have these babies so close.

A little about Isabel...She honestly is the nicest baby I have ever seen! She just has such a calm, sweetness about her that is so apparent. When she is awake she is so nice and as you talk to her she is already starting to pull little smiles. If I need to sit her down she's perfectly content to sit in her bouncy chair of swing. She also let's her sister and 2 brothers hold and kiss her as much as they want without even protesting. When she's tired, all I have to do is lay her in her bassinet and she'll usually just put herself to sleep. She also takes a binky and a bottle-which we are both very thrilled about. I'm truly not bragging because I know that it has nothing to do with anything I've done. I have never, ever had such an easy baby! I think that #4 just had to be easy-not that the other's are hard by any means-but 4 kids-WOW! I am so in love with this baby. She brings so much to our family and adds so much to our home. We are so excited to watch her grow and develop!