New Zealand!

New Zealand here we come!! We are going to Queenstown the second week in October and we can't wait!!!!

Afterall, it's only a 3 hour flight, so why not?!

Want to know the best part??....we are going without our kids!!!! WooHoo!!

We will be celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary.

Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, NZ
The lodge we will be staying in....ahhh, I can't wait!

I'm actually considering taking the Lord of the Rings senic tour -- visiting all the sites where the movies were shot just outside Queenstown. Yeah. I'm a nerd. Do ya wanna come with us??

snow play

Yesterday we took the girls sledding at one of the ski resorts nearby. Grace LOVED it...Haylee and Ava, well, not so much :)

All in all it was a really fun family day!

Just outside Lake Mountain Lodge.

And, yes, that is Ava sitting over there on the sled all by herself. Good thing she didn't sled off,off, and away.

Helping Daddy with his big snowman.
Bruce helped the girls make a "princess-castle-snowman", as they called it.

snow falling...
This picture cracks me up! What would she say if she could talk?!

Daddy and Grace getting ready to sled down the mountain.

Haylee wanted NOTHING to do with those sleds!

What a great day! Lets go home....

bathing beauties

Winter Date Night

Bruce and I got to sneak away to the temple for a date. I love the temple. I love the overwhelming feelings of peace and comfort I have when I'm there.

It was especially romantic because the weather was Wintry in every way outside, but inside the temple was warm, beautiful and cozy.

I thought I'd get warmer by hunching over into Bruce....not so much ;)
my new skirt :)

crazy!

Bruce and I had a laugh last night....

Ava is exactly 10 months and 2 weks old right now....

That's how old Grace was when Haylee was born. How am I still alive?!?!

This picture was taken at Grace's Halloween party - just two weeks before I had Haylee

This is a bad picture of me, but do you think I should cut my hair short again??

Just had brought Haylee home from the hospital...Grace checking her out


Seriously, how did I survive having two babies - no, two c-sections! - in 10 1/2 months?? Sorry to all my family & friends who had to endure all the crying I did.....I don't remember much of that, but I do remember crying a lot :)
(oh, and should i cut my hair short again?? hummm....)

10 1/2 months later....

10 1/2 months ago I had my third little daughter. Now, 10 1/2 months later, I still can't believe I am a mom to three little girls. Every day I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for letting me take care of three of his most precious and beautiful children. How did I ever get so lucky??

Ava Ruby is such a little lover! She loves cuddles and kisses. She loves to giggle and flirt.

We are so in love with this baby!

It's a funny thing - love. It just grows and grows.

I can remember a conversation Bruce and I had after having Grace...we asked each other, "How can we ever love another child as much as we love Grace?!" But you do. And I would even say as you become more confident in your parenting abilities, you can love (and relax!) even more than before.

Ava has now finally decided to start crawling! It's now 3 for 3...all of our girls have been late crawlers. That's okay. I say take your time, little one. She growls when you ask her, "Ava, what does a tiger say?" Yeah, it's just about the cutest thing ever! We can thank her big sisters for teaching her that one :)

I love this picture of Bruce and Ava. I think they look so much alike. They have the same eyes. The same expressions. I love it.

surgery

Grace's surgery was this past Tuesday - 4 days ago. She had it done at SouthEastern Private Hospital just outside Melbourne. The operation went well and I am extremely glad it's all over with.

Grace was very brave. Bruce and I were so impressed with her. Way to go, Gracie-Loo!

Daddy took a picture of us in the hospital lobby...waiting to get called back for the surgery.

This was just after they brought her in her room from recovery. She was still very groggy from the anesthesia. I hated seeing her like this ;(

She did get sick on her purple kitty cat shirt the doctor let her wear into surgery. She was SO SAD about getting throw-up on that shirt! It was pathetically adorable. I assured her mommy would wash it and it would get all clean....good thing it did!

The dr kept her overnight and she continued to improve. *Sigh of relief*. She began keeping bits of food and drink down so her tiny IV got to come out and we all got to come home! Hooray! And hooray for a healthy little girl!

poor little princess

life is crazy! we have been so busy lately....just a quick update though. gracie is having surgery this coming tuesday august 10th. she has terrible sleep apnea (stops breathing in her sleep) and it's because her tonsils and adnoids are about 3x bigger than they should be. bruce and i were in shock - and actually the doctor was, too - when we saw how enormous her tonsils are. anyhow, her airway is partially blocked not only when she's sleeping, but also when she's awake. she tires quite easily - doesn't get enough oxygen when she plays. i feel so, so, so bad for her and i wish i could go through the surgery for her. the doctor actually said the words "grace's case is frighteningly bad.." yeah, not exactly what you want to hear the surgeon say! i'm not looking forward to my baby having surgery, but i know it needs to happen.