Fourth of July

Hailey, Grandpa and Kali up at the Brighton parade

Makena

Braxton and Jarel

Tyler

Hailey and Mom

4 kids asleep on the drive home 

Flag passed us up at the parade

up at Silver Lake in Brighton

Group picture

Playing yard games at Grandpa Hathaway's

Hailey eating pistachios with Grandpa

getting ready for fireworks

Kali stayed inside while we lit our fireworks…but after we were done, she came outside to see the fireworks that were going off in the sky. She wasn't afraid of those because they were far away.

4th of July is always a fun holiday for me. We started off the day going to to Brighton for their parade. It was a small town parade and it was great! Anyone can be in the parade (so next year Tyler is going to be in it so he can throw out candy) and the parade goes around the Brighton loop twice. This was our first year going, and it was just so much fun. We really enjoyed it. Afterwards we walked around Silver Lake and then left. 

We stopped for lunch and then went to a movie. The kids really liked watching Rio 2 at the big theaters.

Then we went to Grandpa and Grandma Hathaway's house to play yard games, eat dinner and just hang out. Always a good time there! So glad we have family close by to go spend time with them. Love doing things with my parents and also with Jarel's parents.

We then came home and did some fireworks of our own. Makena and Tyler enjoy the fireworks, they plug their ears on the loud ones, but Kali and Hailey are not too big of fans of them. Hailey did come out, but mostly hid under the blanket. Kali stayed inside until we were done, and Braxton was asleep for the night. After we lit our fireworks, we stayed outside another hour just laying on the blanket watching all the fireworks going off around us. 

I just love this day. When we were going inside Makena said, "Mom I had such a fun day. 12 hours of all we did was play!"

That about sums up the day…play and family!

time together

Yesterday, the kids and I went to Thanksgiving farm. A fun couple of hours. This past month, we bought a Thanksgiving point membership and with that the kids get unlimited pony and wagon rides. They thought that was awesome! The farm wasn't crowded at all. It was enjoyable. It seems lately when I take the kids by myself some place, I am feeling frustrated because they don't listen and run off and I spend a lot of time looking for my kids. But today, the kids were great! Made the day that much more fun.

After the farm…what better than a trip to Menchies! 

I love spending time with my kids, they are my light each day!

Side note: I went to the store and had all 5 with me. We were going inside the store while a man was leaving the store. He noticed I had all the kids and said, "Looks like you have lots of helpers today! Do you know you have a million bucks right there with you?" He then leaves and says "more like a billion bucks!"

I have thought about that many times since. It is so true…these 5 little people are more to me than anything. They bring lots of happiness into my life that I wouldn't find elsewhere. 

Diaper Cream

Came inside to this little man playing with the diaper stuff. He was all smiles!

Goodbye my Friend!

Last Wednesday I went up to the VA hospital to visit my Uncle Bill. He was admitted to the hospital over the weekend for stomach problems. They did a colonoscopy and endoscopy and said that his stomach and bowels were really bad. The past month he has lost 40-50 pounds and was on the decline. The last time I saw him was at my mom's house (Uncle bill would come every month to my mom's house for dinner. We loved having him come. He would always bring gold coins for the kids. And if it was their birthday month, he would give them a 2 dollar bill). The last time he came was in May and I just had this feeling that that was the last time he would be coming. I loved always sitting on the couch talking with him and hearing his stories. He loved football, he played it in high school. He was the quarterback for his team. He was in the army during the wars. He was married (his wife died about 15 years ago), he has 3 kids but each of his kids have chosen not to have kids. So he doesn't have any grandkids. So me and my siblings and all of our kids were his. So I was thankful my Grandma and Grandpa Kofoed would always go and get him so he could come to the dinners.

The past month, he has been staying at home and just not feeling well. I knew he was ready to pass on. When you would ask how he was doing he would say, "well I am still here." I tried going to visit him once at his home, but when I got there he didn't want visitors. I was sadden because I just wanted to see him one last time and give him a hug because I knew he wasn't going to be around much longer.

So last week when I found out he was in the hospital, I knew I needed to get up there. Jarel was up close to the hospital doing a job, so he stopped in to see him before he went to his next job. My dad was there when Jarel went. That same day was Neil's birthday and we were going to his house. I asked Kim (who moved back from CA and is staying there until they get a house) if I could drop the kids off early so I can run up and see Uncle Bill. 

I got up to the hospital and nobody else was there. It was nice to just spend one on one time with him. Uncle Bill was defiantly weak and confused. He couldn't lift his cup by himself, I had to help him get a drink each time. He couldn't eat by himself, I fed him his jello (he didn't have an appetite that night, and with his stomach still not good, he was given broth and jello and he opted for jello). I fed him about 5 small spoonfuls and that was all he wanted. At one point he asked how the kids were and I told him they were at Grandpa Hathaway's birthday party and having cake and ice cream. Uncle Bill's eyes got so wide and said, "ice cream? Now that sounds good, something I could have." Unfortunately he couldn't :( oh how I wish he could have. I was there for about 2 hours, just chatting, listening, helping and supporting. He was so tired and kept falling asleep, which I didn't care, but every time he would wake up, he would say he was sorry for falling asleep. His mind was still there, but his short term memory was not. I had to tell him 10 times or so that the cup on his tray was jello, that the thing on his finger was to measure his oxygen. It saddened me to see him like this. After one time of falling asleep, he woke up in a panic. He was looking all around, and finally I said, "Uncle Bill I am right here." A huge relief came to him and he said, "I thought you were gone. Will you help me get a drink?" Broke my heart. Oh how I wished I could help him more. But in the end, he was still Uncle Bill! Even with his memory loss and confusing and weakness he was still the person I knew. For that I was so happy. I am so grateful I was able to go and visit with him and spend that time with him. Today I learned that Uncle Bill passed away. I will miss him lots. I am glad he didn't have to spend too much time at the nursing home (they had just moved him from the hospital to the nursing home yesterday and he wasn't happy about it. He hated the hospital, thought everyone was out to get him and couldn't understand how one day he was good and the next he was in the hospital unable to eat). I am glad he is up in heaven with his wife. He was a great person and an example to me. I will be happy when I get to see him again. Love you Uncle Bill!

Learning to Ride!

This boy learned to ride his bike over the weekend! Makena was working with him in the backyard on the grass trying to have him keep his balance. Makena came in all excited to show me his progress. I went and watched and was actually surprised at how balanced he was. So I took him out front and he hoped on and I had to run along side the bike about 4 times and he got it! He was super excited! Way to go Tyler