Carter T-Ball

Carter had a blast playing T-Ball this past summer!  He was very entertaining to watch.  He always had his "shades" on and was very intense about who was winning and who wasn't.  It's so fun to watch him learn new things!

4th of July

I've gotten WAY too far behind on my blog so I'm going to attempt to catch up the best that I can.  

We celebrate the 4th of July with the Nuttall/Roberts clan this year (I think the Lloyd's were in Nauvoo).  We had a great time going to the Kaysville parade and swimming and BBQing at my parents house.  My mom and dad bought this really fun blow up water toy.  The kids played for hours and had a great time!

Final

Easton's headstone was placed last Saturday, April 28th (and then re-placed in the correct spot Wednesday, May 2nd but that's a whole different story...).  It's beautiful and perfect and conveys exactly how we feel about our sweet baby.  I have been anxiously waiting for the day it was actually in the ground.  I want the whole world to know that my son is buried there and that he was loved.  On the other hand, it has brought back many emotions that I thought would never come back.  It just seems so final.  The final tangible thing we needed to do to put our son to rest.  It's officially official now, Easton's death is "set in stone" (quite literally). While it breaks my heart to see his name marking his grave instead of hanging on the wall in the room he would've shared with Asher, I continue to feel peace and know that he is watching over us urging us in the right direction so that we can all be together as a family one day.

DISNEYLAND! Picture overload!

We were so grateful for the opportunity we had at the end of February/beginning of March to go to Disneyland with most of Ryan's side of the family. It was so much fun and my kids were in heaven! Where there meltdowns? Yes (some of which by the adults), but it was still the best vacation ever! Well, except when Ryan and I went on our cruise...that was just almost too good to be true...Anyways, enjoy our pictures from the best FAMILY vacation we have ever been on.

There was a lot of video watching (see Carter above) and not nearly enough napping on the ride to California.

This was a common sight on our trip. Grandma had a broken foot so her wheelchair became the napping place for both girls. And grandpa got some serious exercise pushing these lovely ladies everywhere!

Rylee in front of Space Mountain! The girl would ride anything she was tall enough for. She gets that from daddy for sure!

I had to throw in this one of Cam looking less than his handsome self oh and don't miss me eating (of course)!

Rainforest Cafe home of the multi-child meltdown special. I believe all four of the older kids melted down for one reason or another.

Had to throw in this shot of the Modern Family director's chair. They were filming an episode of our favorite TV show while were there. We saw all of our favorite characters and one of us (who shall remain nameless) actually yelled out to Eric Stonestreet who plays Cam and made a complete fool out of themselves.

Christmas

To be honest, I kind of dreaded Christmas this year. It’s not my favorite holiday anyway. I mean I love celebrating the birth of Christ, but I prefer much lower key holidays like the 4^th of July when there isn’t usually a bazillion different places to be and all at the same time and no matter which place you choose, someone, somewhere is going to be mad at you. So ya, not a huge fan of Christmas, but this year I was REALLY dreading it. I had pretty much finished shopping in May. I thought I was so smart! My thinking was that who in their right mind would want to go out during the holiday season shopping with twins that were only a few months old? Jokes on me! So I didn’t have a lot of shopping to do which was nice, but kind of boring and I just dreaded missing our little Easton. I dreaded that so much time had passed that it seemed everyone else except us was starting to forget that he ever existed and that I would spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day doing what I have come to call, “faking it until I make it.” Needless to say, I was feeling mighty sorry for myself. Christmas Eve came and we went to visit Easton’s grave and I had my good cry for the day while we pulled away from the cemetery and drove to my parents’ house for their party. We had a really good time with lots of yummy food and fun games and I was pleasantly surprised how much fun I had. Christmas Day came and my kids were so excited and they had so much fun opening presents, but I have to say the best part was the Spirit we felt that day. The day I had been dreading for months turned out to be the BEST Christmas I have ever had. Ryan and I agreed to only get each other one gift so you would think that for someone who loves to get presents like I do, would be disappointed in such a Christmas, but it truly was a special day. Since it was Sunday, we attended Sacrament meeting and one of the songs was Away in a Manager. This song hasn’t ever really been my favorite, but the last verse really got to both Ryan and I that day.

Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray

Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And fit us for heaven
To live with Thee there

This year, on the Christmas I had dreaded more than any other, I felt what the true meaning of Christmas is. The whole reason for Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our Savior who came to this Earth for the soul purpose of making it possible for us to return to Him and to be able to be together as families forever. Those blessings have taken on a whole new meaning at our house and I am grateful for the teachings of the Gospel that have helped us to see the eternal perspective.

That all being said, Carter and Rylee had a great Christmas and were so spoiled by many! Asher didn’t care much. Sadly, we didn’t take a single picture, but here are some videos…