Utah

We found out last week that Steve/Grandpa Coombs has renal cell carcinoma. He had to have major surgery to take an embolism out of his inferior vena cava as well as take out the affected kidney. We wanted to be there for him for this scary surgery (especially Ben being a doctor wanted to take care of his dad), so last minute we decided to load up and head to Utah!

We drove 23 hours through the night to get to Utah. It was a long drive but the kids all did awesome!! Thank you DVD player and headphones ;)

We got to Utah Monday and were able to join the family for a special blessing Steve received through his stake president (Pres. Checketts) and his bishop (Clay Henderson) as well as all of the boys. We were so grateful to be there for that sweet blessing and to feel the peace that the blessing brought. We felt more confident as Steve went into surgery Tuesday and expected a positive outcome.

Our family decided to stay with Maryn while we were there so we could be close to Steve and Annette but not infect their house with our craziness :) We had a blast this last week living with the Edgmons!! The kids played non stop and we got to see their beautiful new house. 

The highlights for the kids was the Aerospace Museum at Hill Air Force Base:

 As well as the big movie night sleepover:

 We also were able to see Mindy and her kids, the Beals, Brendan and fam, Tyson and fam, Ben's friend Brett, and have dinner at the Sadler's. It was a family and friend filled week!!

As luck would have it, we were in Utah during the Ogden Temple Open House! It was great to go through the temple as a family and get to show the kids the beauty that is inside the Lord's house. So very grateful to be a forever family!!

Grandpa's surgery went really well and he was able to come home Friday. Ben spent the night with his parents Steve's first night home and then we joined them Saturday for one last day at Grandma's before we had to leave. The boys got some quality lego and kinex time with Nate, Gabe, Zac and Eli...

  

 And Ellie got some good Grandma time in :)

It's always fun at Grandma's house!!

We had a blast on our last minute trip to Utah, even though we came for something not fun. It's always good to spend time with family!!

Tidwell Time

We met the Tidwell's in Nauvoo today and the kids acted like it hasn't been an entire year since we've seen them. They were playing like best friends again right away! We sure love this family and are so happy that they are in the same temple district as us now!

2nd Grade!

My first baby is in 2nd grade!! 

It was sad to walk him to school and leave him there all day, but it's so fun to see his excitement for school and learning. Cole is one smart cookie who loves to learn!

We got to meet his teacher, Mrs. Seckler, last night. She seems great and I know he will have a fun year with her so I guess he's in good hands :) Go get em buddy!!

Riverplex

OSF had their annual Resident Day today and we got to go to the Riverplex with Daddy. There was a poo poo accident in the pool so we got some quality time on the playground enjoying the beautiful view on the riverfront.

 Unfortunately, Dax slept right through the fun park time. We woke him up for the few minutes we were able to swim before someone pooped in the pool again :/

It was so great to spend a day off with Daddy today!! Thank you OSF!

Bunk Beds!!

Cole has been asking for bunk beds for years now. Since his bed was broken in the tornado he was pretty sure he was getting bunk beds as a replacement. I wasn't as in love with the idea, but then I found this awesome set on Craigslist:

The kids are in heaven! Especially Cole now that he gets the top bunk and his own desk :) Childhood is such a blast! 

Toy Takeover

The toys are taking over my kitchen!!

We have moved in, but we haven't been able to put everything away yet. The result: toys everywhere!! The kids especially love bringing their toys into the kitchen and leaving them all over my counters and floors. Cole's legos are littering every surface, and Ellie's homemade paper clothes and accessories for her dolls have taken over the kitchen island. It is a mess...but we are having a blast being back in our beautiful house!!

2!!

This sweet, handsome, funny, smart, adorable, trouble making boy is 2 today!!

We had a fun morning at the Lowes Build and Grown workshop building a trolley from the movie "Monsters Vs. Aliens"

 Next was lunch at the fun boat park by the river. We also got to see the ferry dock...the kids were mesmerized!

After naptime we started the traditional birthday festivities. He didn't know what was going on, but he was pretty excited about his sports balloon and basketball cake :) 

 He needed a little help blowing out the two candles...but he took care of the cake all by himself! It was lip smacking good :)

 He didn't need help opening his presents, but he got it anyways :) He was pretty excited about the ball, helicopter, bubbles and balance bike he got!!

Thanks to the local baptist church Dax also got a party :) We watched our friends kids, Hailey and Kate, and took them to this awesome block party put on by a nearby church. There were big blow up bouncy houses and slides, balloon animals, popcorn machines and cotton candy! It was the best party a two year old could ever dream of :)

Dax, you are our little bubba. You are all boy but know how to give big loves! You are super funny and can do just about anything you put your mind to. You are growing up way too fast and doing everything the big kids are doing...except going on the potty-you still ask for diapers :) You are adored not only by your mommy and daddy and big brother and sister, but by all of your cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. No one can get enough of "Baby Dax"!! You also get comments from friends and strangers alike about how cute you are :) You are the life of the party and a joy to have around. Love you so much my little bubba!!!