Earlier this month we took a somewhat surprise trip to Arizona. We were able to drive in and surprise Danny's brother Spencer who was just about to open his Mission call. He was called to Thailand!!! We all had made a guess and DJ guessed Thailand. Woohoo! Brandon guessed Disneyland (or maybe Bug land in California Adventures Park), and when we asked Anna where she thought Spencer would go she said Milk. You can decide where you thing that may be. Anyways, we were so happy we were able to be there for that exciting moment. I love this picture with everyones faces as he reads Thailand.

Danny went back to Utah after a couple days, but the kids and I stayed for just over 2 weeks. It was perfect. My sister Sarah had her baby girl Rachelle while we were down there. I got to hold her and love her a little bit at the hospital. The kids got to see her when she was just under 2 weeks old. Brandon and Anna wanted to hold her.She is such a sweet baby!

Mostly we just played outside all day everyday and we got to see a lot of family! Here are some random things that we did.

The boys and Anna got to plant a few Cacti with Grandpa King in the Cactus garden at Park of Canals. They worked hard.

We did a lot of this...

I love this one. Please do not bother Lacy. She is busy reading a book:)

 The boys got to help Papa Dad turn his garden too. They had a great time!

We loved being there so much we are moving down there at the beginning of May!!! 

DJ had a birthday this week. He is a big 5 year old boy. Danny asked him how it felt to be 5 and DJ said, "It feels really good. I feel like I am 6!" He had informed me of a few things that big 5 year old boys can do. They take a bath in the morning by themselves. Usually we do baths at night, but he can do them in the morning now by himself. Also, he can pour his own milk, and big 5 year old boys can help their mom when she asks them to. He is such a good boy and he really is a great helper. I love him so much!

Well, we had a great birthday. We had a birthday party on Saturday with all of his primary class. He loved it. We sent out pirate invitations, we had a spiderman cake, and we had a cookie monster pinata. So if you were wondering what the theme was, there wasn't one. He had a great day and that is all that matters. Here are a few pictures from his birthday.

Mamama's package got here and the kids loved the packing peanuts! What a mess.

  Pin the tail on the donkey!

  My good try at a spiderman cake.

Opening up presents on the morning of his birthday! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa King and Mamama and Papa Dad.

We have been reminded a lot this weekend about how fragile life is. We often get caught up in our day to day lives and forget how fortunate we are each day to be with our loved ones. Our sweet 2 year old nephew Nash has been diagnosed with retinoblastoma. Basically it is a cancerous tumor in the eye. We keep praying for him and his family. He is scheduled for a surgery this coming Friday.

We also found out that our Bishop's daughter lost her 4 year old daughter yesterday to Carbon Monoxide poisoning in their home. Our hearts are broken for them as they deal with this loss. They are also in our prayers. More than anything this loss has caused me to realize how life can change in a matter of moments and I have been holding my kids a little tighter and a little longer these last couple days. What a gift it is to have the knowlege of the plan of salvation and know that we will be with our loved ones again. It doesn't make the pain of losing a dear one go away, but it at least lightens the burden a little. So remember to say I love you to those you love and be thankful for each day we get to live here on this earth together.

For Christmas Danny got me a sewing machine. I have not touched a sewing machine since I was probably 8, but I am determined to start learning again. So I decided my first project would be a superman/batman cape for the boys. I thought it all out and had it completely visualized before I ever took my sewing machine out of the box. Brandon has really been into being a superhero lately and he had a small apron that he kept turning around to his back to be his cape. So yesterday I decided would be the day to attack my plan. We loaded up and went to Joanns fabric store. I told the kids they would have to be patient with me. We got all the fabric loaded up in the basket then headed over to find  some other sewing neccessities. I found a sewing machine kit with thread, pins, measuring tape, bobbins, scissors, and more. It was perfect! Then I decided Anna would need something too, so I grabbed some elastic and some tulle for a tutu.  I finally got my fabric cut and payed. Whew! First part of the plan was successful. DJ and Brandon were so excited.  We headed home and took DJ to Preschool. Then I put Anna and Brandon down and started the cutting. I found a batman logo and a superman logo online and blew them up to the size of a page and  printed them off. Those were  my patterns. The other cloth I just cut into rectangles. That part was done. Then the sewing machine part. I got out my handy dandy users guide. I figured out what everthing was called, and started following directions on how to thread the bobbin and the top thread. 45 minutes later I had it all figured out. Now I was ready to sew. The first lines went really well. Not beautiful, but I was happy that the thread was actually working. That means I understood the directions! Brandon and DJ helped me cut out and push the pedal. They were thrilled with themselves. By dinner we had all but the top part done. I wasn't quite sure how to do this. After the kids went down Danny and I used our combined brain power and sewing skills (both of which are not much) and by 1:00 in the morning we were done! Here is the finished product.

Not bad for first time sewers. Danny really pulled through for me. He was a trooper! 

I got Anna's elastic sewn together last  night but that is it. So today we worked on her tutu. We had to go get some more tulle and now we have the finished product.

She loves it! So that is our fun for a while. I am worn out but the kids are thrilled and I learned a lot and so it is worth it! Here is to fun stuff!

I just wanted to keep this picture in my memory forever.

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged. We have been busy with life. The kids are growing up too quickly. Anna is keeping up with her brothers. DJ and Brandon are both in preschool and they love it. It is amazing how many Christmas songs these boys know both from school and from listening to them at home. We sing them all day long. It is a winter wonderland here. Today DJ built a snowman. The snow was finally wet enough to make a snowman. A lot of times it is too powdery and it will not stick together very well.

Danny took me to Las Vegas for a quick 48 hour get away to celebrate (Relax) my finishing up my Masters Program. He has been so supportive and helpful to me as I did this. Thanks to Grandma King for taking care of DJ, Brandon, and Anna while we were gone. We got home and DJ said "We had a great time did you?" Brandon kept saying, "Do you feel better now mom?" I don' t know if he thought I was sick and that is why I had to leave. Last time I left for that long with Danny I came home with a brand new baby (Anna). So maybe he thought that was what was happening. I wish that were my excuse for being so big right now! Anyways, here are some random photos of things we have done lately. 

 We have been playing with play dough a lot lately. Brandon loves to play with play dough and since it is so cold outside it is one of our favorite things to do. Here is our snowman family.

  We got to visit Santa and tell him what we wanted

And of course we have been playing in the snow. Here is the snowman DJ built all by himself today

And here is the one Danny and Anna help DJ build after his other snowman fell down.

I was hoping Brandon would see it after preschool but it is raining now. I wonder if this guy is still out on the back of the shed?

On Labor day we had a fun morning hanging out with Mamama, Stevie, Krista, and Tim. Then later in the afternoon we decided to enjoy the warm day and head to Bridal Veil Falls. Apparently a lot of other people decided to do the same thing. We still had a great time though. We finally got a new camara so here are some pictures of the fun.

 

DJ loves to color and draw. He is really getting pretty good. He has surpassed me in my drawing skills. Yes he is 4 and yes it is not hard to color better than me. Well, when I got home from my workout this morning he showed me these pictures he had drawn. If you have seen Wally you will understand them. We watched Wally every day for about a 2 week period this summer. Then he has never wanted to see it since. But somehow he was inspired to draw this today. I think he did a great job.  This was done all by himself no help at all. What do you think? 

This one is Wally with Eva right next to him and the thing that comes to take Eva back to the axiom.