Memorial Day Weekend

We began celebrating Memorial Day weekend on Thursday, May 22 at about 4:30 p.m. That's when Wally finished the second of four parts of the CPA exam. He studied non-stop for 13 weeks leading up to that test and we were all happy to finally have a relaxed Dad. I am happy to say that I made it through this last test with only one or two utter and complete breakdowns. I've decided that the emotional breakdowns are a good sign. It means we still need him around!


We spent the entire weekend just playing. On Friday morning, we got up and went out to IHOP for breakfast. After that we did some shopping and then went to the pool. The kids had so much fun! Kelsie is really coming along and can swim with no floaties. She has overcome her fear of jumping off the side and even comes up with tricky moves. Jackson LOVES the water. He can swim, but I prefer him to wear the little arm floaties when we're in the big pool. I wasn't sure how Chloe would react to the pool, since our pool water isn't heated. (In the heat of the summer, the water temperature is really warm, but at the beginning of the season, it takes your breath away when you jump in!) Chloe loved the water! In fact, she loved the water so much she was making me nervous. We couldn't find our little baby innertube, so Wally and I just took turns holding her. She was kicking her legs and trying to push us away. She really just wanted to swim by herself! After a couple of hours, we had to pull the kids out of the pool, because Wally and I were starting to burn (my skin hasn't seen the sun in years!) We grabbed some dinner and a couple of movies from RedBox (our new favorite!) and had the best day!


On Saturday, I started off the day by doing my long run. Long for me is probably just a warm up for most folks, but I'm slowly working my way up to a 10K. I am now up to about 5 miles on Saturdays and 3-3.5 mile runs during the week. I have found that I really enjoy running and actually look forward to it! We'll see how much running I do when the morning lows are in the 90's, but for now, it's my escape! We spent Saturday catching up on housework, yardwork, grocery shopping, etc. We bought some new pool toys for the kids and a floatie for Chloe and then headed to the pool to try it all out. Another awesome day!


Sunday was business as usual, and by the time Monday rolled around we had a mountain of laundry, sunburned shoulders, and a lot to catch up on. The kids spent the day playing with friends, while I caught up on Relief Society stuff and planned our last week of preschool. (YEAH!) Wally and I were both missing our families and all of those traditions that are part of our lives, but we wouldn't trade this chapter in our lives for anything!

One is Fun!

It's hard to believe, but our little Chloe turned one on April 19. According to our plans, she is our last, so it is hard to watch her grow from an infant to a toddler! I still can't bring myself to put away her newborn clothes, so they remain hanging in our closet. And while I do miss those newborn days, I must admit that I don't mind sleeping through the night.

We took Chloe to Build A Bear for her first birthday. She only says a few words, and one of them is "puppy," so she was absolutely delighted to go to Build A Bear! She fell in love with every animal we showed her and we had a hard time letting her choose just one. Kelsie and Jackson got to help Chloe stuff and "bathe" her puppy and even chose out a cute little wig for Chloe's bald head! We had such a great time! After Build A Bear we had to go to Jackson's soccer game, where Chloe was ready to go out on the field and play. We ended our fun day going to Chili's for dinner, where the birthday girl took a nap on the bench. When we got home, we sang "Happy Birthday" and had cake and ice cream with our neighbors. Chloe's first birthday was almost perfect. Right up until the time that she came down with the stomach flu!

We are so happy that Chloe is part of our family! She is so much fun and keeps our lives exciting! Wally and I have voted Chloe "The Most Likely Wallace Child to End Up in the ER." She is very adventurous and independent and really keeps me on my toes. My friend Michelle describes her as "a woman on a mission." Once she decides where she is going and what she wants, she is virtually unstoppable. It is not uncommon to hear me say things such as "How on earth did you get up there?" or "Don't eat the garbage!" or "Spit that out!" or "Has anybody seen Chloe?" She is also sweet and loving and lots of fun!

Home Is Where Your Mom Is

Chloe and I flew to SLC for a much anticipated trip home. The plane ride with an independent 1 year old was quite an adventure in itself. Wally made sure I brought some cash in case I needed to buy my neighbor a drink! Fortunately, on both plane rides the people we were sitting by were very kind and understanding. We spent four wonderful days bonding with baby Owen, laughing with my sisters (and Mom!), eating lots of yummy food, and enjoying family. Highlights of the trip include:

• snuggling with baby Owen
• celebrating Dad's 62nd birthday (according to Mom, he's only 48!)
• watching Chloe's first steps
• spending time with family
• being entertained by Cam
• Cafe Rio, Costa Vida, and sushi from Suehiro YUM!
• celebrating Chloe's 1st birthday
• dinner with Brent, Vickie, Brad, Jenn, Cade, and Ellie
• visiting Upon the Shelf (so many fabulous things, so little luggage space!)
• watching "Dan in Real Life" with Nellie
• shopping at the Gateway

It was so good to be home again and I was grateful for the time that Chloe got to spend with family. As our "firstborn in the wilderness" she doesn't have the same relationship with her grandmas and papas as Kelsie and Jack do. She really warmed up to everybody (especially the puppy!) and will hopefully remember everyone for when we go back in July. The time went by way too quickly, but for the first time, I didn't cry when it was time to go. It could be that Texas is growing on me. But I think I just really missed Wally, Kelsie, and Jack.

Happy Easter!

Easter seemed to come way too quickly this year. As always, we were a little sad that we were not hunting for eggs with the Miyasaki's or playing with the Wallace's in St. George. Wally missed the golfing, the kids missed their cousins, and because we didn't go out of town I had to speak in Sacrament meeting. But once that was done, we had a great Easter!

Kelsie and Jackson woke up early and started looking for their Easter baskets. Last year, the Easter Bunny did a really good job of hiding them. This year's Easter Bunny was a little more lax! Kelsie and Jack both got new umbrellas, which they really needed because of all the rain we've been getting. Chloe got some new sippy cups, but was way more interested in the Easter grass at the bottom of her basket.

Jackson Turns 5

Jackson turned 5 this month and got to have his first official birthday party. The guest list included several energetic boys so I decided to look into having his party at one of those places with the giant inflatables. Wally, ever the accountant, wasn't so sure about the cost until I told him our list of children to invite was 14 long. And suddenly, not having a birthday party in our home was worth it!

The party was fantastic! All of the kids had a great time bouncing and playing. Wally and I even joined in the fun and took turns "taking Chloe" down the giant slide. It was a blast! After playing for an hour, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jackson, served his Lightning McQueen birthday cake, and opened presents. He got lots of fun Cars toys and Lego sets (which I was really excited about-- I love Legos!) On the way home I told him that his birthday was almost as good as Christmas to which he replied "It's way better than Christmas. On Christmas we never get to eat cake."

A Greeting From Chloe

Chloe's first word was not "dada" or "mama", instead, she says "Hi!" That tells you a little bit about Chloe. She says "Hi!" to everyone everywhere we go. She refuses to take a nap if she can hear anybody having fun because she doesn't want to miss out. Kind of reminds me of her older sister.

A New Nephew

As Cindy's due date of April 1 got closer, I started getting sad that I wouldn't be there. So Wally booked me a plane ticket to fly home to Utah on April 10. I called Cindy and told her that I was going to fly out there to see her baby, and it would really be nice if she could have him by then. She had him the next morning. What a good sister! Baby Owen was 3 weeks early and gave us a little scare with a heart arrhythmia, but is now doing great! Congratulations Cindy, Greg, and Cam! Chloe and I can't wait to see you!