Middle summer and our trip to Washington

The world cup was last summer. We rooted for Ecuador, of course, then when they lost we routed for Brazil

 We got to watch a game with Rodolfo and Emily which was so fun!

 Pretty little Phoebe wearing a handle down dress that the nieces wore at our wedding :)

 We painted and organized our garage this summer. It was several weeks of exhausting nights after the kids went to bed but now we feel like any messes in this house are finally our own. no more nastiness left from the previous owners.

 We had such a fun fourth of July with Zach and Natalie.

 Then we packed the car and drove down to the washington coast for a few days and then to Seattle for my dear cousin Hillary's wedding. We had so much fun! It is so nice to be together!

 The beach house was lovely and so cheap, because the beach was nasty. This walk was beautiful but the sand was mostly mud with algae in it so your feet squished down in sun warmed ickyness every time you took a step. The water was bathtub warm and full of gross stuff so the beach wasn't our favorite, but we still had a lot of fun! We played a lot of games, watched some movies, went for walks, took a ferry out to see the san juan islands one day which was so pretty and got some delicious ice cream. It was absolutely beautiful everywhere too!

 In Seatlle we went to the zoo which was pretty hot and exhausting. We also went to the space needle which was so fun!! It may be crazy to take three little kids to such a nice restaurant, but they had so much fun, it was totally worth it to me :) And it was just beautiful and so magical!

 We also got to go to Seattle's incredible huge amazing science museum for free with our discovery center pass which cost less than one day admission to that museum would have. We felt so lucky!

 And we really enjoyed the Chuhuli glass museum. Especially Sammy. He got so excited about everything and wanted to take lots of pictures. I love that sweetie!

 Then at the very end of our trip we went to my sweet cousin, Hillary's beautiful wedding! I love Hillary and it was so good to see her so glowingly happy and beautiful!! She planned her whole wedding and did the most amazing job! Everything was just beautiful! It was in this incredible lodge right on a lake.

Of course we took the scenic way home so we could get a glimpse of mount rainier and boy was it worth it!!

Saying Goodbye to Mom and Dad and our trip to Utah

I think I did my best to compartmentalize mom and dad's mission. I didn't really think about the sad parts until after they left. Which was good in a lot of ways. I didn't show a lot of sadness to them and I got to enjoy all the exciting things about them leaving on a mission as well as helping with packing and all that without a lot of pain. Their setting apart was so incredible and special! I am so proud of both of them and their willingness to serve the Lord and sacrifice all their plans to follow him. That being said, I got pretty depressed after they left. Probably most of last summer I was kind of depressed and really I think the whole family was. Thats important for honesty sake, but I have been very fully aware through all this that even though it is a sacrifice to share our parents, I know the Lord is blessing us for that sacrifice and I am very willing to share of my abundance (My awesome and amazing parents).

 After we said goodbye to them, we had a day to spend at a very fun museum called the museum of creativity. We had a lot of fun!

Last summer Part 1

Max and Sammy had so much fun in their soccer class last spring with Addie and Christian on their same team!! They were adorable!!

Fun family walk on a Sunday. Phoebe was actually able to climb up this slide by herself. It was so cute!

Javier took the boys on a father son campout and they had a ball!

We spent last June soaking up time with my sweet parents as they got ready to go on their mission. We miss them!

Cute Maxy's kindergarten program blew us away!!! He was adorable and they learned so many songs with dancing and instruments! It was awesome!!

Pretty painter. I had to stop her from eating the paint though...

Max and Sammy had a combined Lego Star Wars birthday party. We decorated the house all awesome and made a cake plate out of legos. They smashed a piñata, played games, and watched part of the lego movie.

Morning Sickness

There are so anythings I want to write about today. My heart is very full! We found out right after Christmas break that we are unexpectedly expecting. We were totally shocked...and scared...and thrilled!! I think I had been  putting off this child a tiny bit because I'm overwhelmed with our three little dears but mostly because of irrational fears that if I got pregnant again Javier would die, and also because I know you have a 25% chance of miscarrying and ( again irrationally) in my mind I always thought it would be my fourth I would lose. So basically, I wanted another baby a lot but I was so afraid. SO it was such a blessing that it happened this way and I can't overthink it.

Sickness hit me pretty fast at just 5 weeks and it has been really hard although honestly even though it has been super miserable, it has also been doable. This is mainly because of my wonderful husband and children and their INCREDIBLE support and love. Javier has brought me breakfast in bed every morning, he came home for lunch to feed the kids and take Sammy to school when things were really bad and he brought dinner home every night, put the kids to bed alone and cleaned the house at night. When I was really sick I cried so many times every day, sometimes just because I felt so miserable but a lot of times just because I was so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man!

Now I'm nine weeks along and I had an amazing day today! I was able to actually clean up a little and I just felt happy and only a little nausious instead of being totally consumed by it and miserable. And even cumulatively The last week things have gotten significantly easier.

The kids have been fantastic too! Max every night when he goes to sleep will come and kiss by belly and say, "Ni-night little baby!" He was so so excited when we told him we were having another baby :) I think my pregnancy has been hardest on him in some ways. He started chewing on his shirts when I got sick. His teacher says thats a sign of anxiety. I love my sweet baby Maxy!

Sammy is home with me all day so he gets lots of opportunities to help me and he has been so incredible. Oh how I love that dear little boy! One day when Phoebe woke up from her nap I was feeling especially horrid and dear little Sammy took my phone up to her crib and watched netflix with her for more than an hour. He also goes into her room and looks at books with her every morning when she wakes up. People keep offering to take my kids during the day and I say, "NOOO, don't take my Sammy! He takes care of me!" Also I just feel like Sammy is thriving with this new role. He loves to feel needed and he has been so sweet to help me with so many things. He is so loving! He loves to snuggle with me and when I've been crying he gets so concerned. He'll say, "Ohhh Mommy!"  Also he has prayed very often for our baby that it won't die and that if it does that mommy won't bleed. What a tender soul.

Phoebe has been so dear and precious too! She is always giving me her blanky which she reserves for people who are hurt usually. She'll come up to me laying on the couch crying and say, "Mommy owie?" with a look of concern on her little face. When She is around when I'm throwing up she will rub my back and spit into the toilet next to me. She also tries to feed me constantly which can be a little hard. When I turn away sometimes from something I can't stomach she'll encourage me, "Mommy, is yummy!" She is such a little nurturer. I love her so much!

It is interesting to me that when I am so miserable and sick it helps so much to have these sweet kids here. I can't forget even for a second how worth it all this is :) I'm so grateful for that! I'm so grateful for the love and understanding of my husband and kids. It is hard not to be able to fulfill my roles but they never make me feel bad. They have been nothing but sweet and kind. I am so so grateful! As a result I think it has been easier for me to see a purpose for the suffering this time. A baby is such a huge blessing it is worth any sacrifice :) And I am so grateful for this baby that coming and for my precious babies that Heavenly Father has already blessed me with!