They're smiling!

A few weeks ago, both kids were awake, happy, and smiling... a miracle! So I hurried and got them dressed and situated for pictures to give to Grandparents for Christmas. And I'm happy with how they turned out!

A little bummed I couldn't get Gavin's big grin, but I thought his little smile was still pretty cute.Lauren's smile has come a long way since last time I tried to get a good 2 year old shot.

Christmas!

We had a great Christmas! Actually we had two Christmases. One with the Christensen's and one with the Adair's. Someday we'll have to explain to Lauren that Santa doesn't typically come twice. :)

 We tried to go see Santa at the mall... he wasn't there. So we took a picture without him!

 Ready to play in the snow! For our extended family party we went to Temple Square to see the lights and Lauren wanted to touch the temple. So here she is on the steps.

New Christmas jammies and Sunday outfits.

 Lauren finally got a bike! She's been riding it non-stop ever since.

Gavin pretty much just got the necessities, bottle, binkies and such... but he sure liked 'em!

It was nice spending so much time with family... I think Lauren is already having Grandma and Grandpa withdrawals. :)

Thanksgiving Getaway

We headed to Arizona for Thanksgiving this year! I'll admit I was not looking forward to flying by myself with two kids, but I had to keep reminding myself that it was a million times better than driving for 14 hours with them instead. Thanks for the tickets Cheryl!

Waiting for the plane.

Gavin, Lauren and I stayed with my parents Tuesday night and my dad took us to the airport Wednesday and helped us get checked in which was a big help. Lauren was so excited to ride on an "awpane." They both did really well flying but I'm pretty sure we left most of our fruit snacks and crayons on the plane since I only had one hand to get Lauren off!

Chase's Aunt Brenda picked us up in Mesa and then we drove 3 hours to Safford, and they both did awesome on the drive. We got to Safford and hung out at Nonnie and Papa's house for awhile. Gavin was so funny, he must have have been thrilled to be able to stretch out, he just yelled and hollered like he was the happiest kid in the world.

 I was expecting Chase and his family to get there about 7 or so but they were later so I took the kids to the hotel for bed. They got to sleep in their clothes since jammies and everything were still in the van with everyone else! (I was glad I packed enough diapers and wipes in the diaper bag to last ALL day!) Lauren thought it was great she got to watch a show for a minute in her bed. Everyone else got there about 11:30.

Thursday morning we went to Nonnie and Papa's again and spent the morning cooking and catching up with everyone. It was perfect 60 degree weather. Not too hot and not too cold, although all the Arizona folk were all bundled up in sweaters and boots while we wore short sleeves and flip-flops!

Thanksgiving dinner was great! The food was great, company was great and we threw a party for Papa's 80th birthday! We played a few minute-to-win-it games and Lauren had a blast with this one with the baseball in the nylons trying to knock water bottles down.

Most of the cousins were there and we got to meet all the new babies in the family. Chase's cousin from Boston was there with his new adopted baby who is gorgeous. It was fun seeing everyone! And of course, we had to take family pictures...

All eight of the Scott great-grandkids!

Friday morning we all went swimming at the hotel pool. Lauren was really brave and jumped in and everything! After we went to lunch at Casa, the family's favorite Mexican restaurant. I wasn't very hungry so I just ordered fried ice cream... that was not lost on Lauren who got mad when I tried to make her eat her chicken nuggets before she had ice cream, because Mommy didn't eat her chicken nuggets before her ice cream. Hypocrite mother right here.

Playing the piano with Uncle Jay.

Then we all piled in the van and drove to Tucson to see Aunt Stacey. We just hung around there, went to the park, stayed up late laughing, and got ice cream. Lauren had a great time playing with their huge dog, Thor. Aunt Stacey has a way of always making you feel welcome and it was nice to relax and just be with family.

Waiting at the airport.

Look Mom! Stickers!

Sunday morning we got up waaaay early to drive back to Mesa and drop me and Gavin off at the airport. Seven hours later, after two delays, we boarded and flew home. It was a long wait, but we kept ourselves occupied and Gavin was an angel. I could handle waiting in the airport because everyone else was in the van and Kami got sick. Then Sydney got sick, and then Chance got sick. It was a long drive stopping every hour for someone to throw up. Everyone was just plain worn out by the time they got home. But Lauren did AWESOME the whole drive.

So all in all, it was a successful and fun trip even though we were all thoroughly exhausted! And Lauren and Gavin did GREAT the entire time!

4 Months and Cereal

Time sure flies when you're having fun. Gavin just makes me warm and happy. He's still sleeping great and has found his voice. Today he was squealing and hollering in delight for half an hour.

Finally got a grin on camera!

We tried rice cereal today. The first two bites were okay... and the next two bites weren't so okay.

 The doctor said he looks perfect and is 55% for weight, 64% for height and 74% for head circ. Guess he needs a big noggin' to carry all those smarts around!

That's Brian!

Second in on the right, front row. Does a heart good to see him! Ironic that there had to be a natural disaster so we could see pictures of him and his mission, since we didn't get to see hardly any before! ;)

This is at the Manila MTC where the Area President was talking to the 71 Tacloban Missionaries. He's been reassigned to the Manila Philippines mission and hoping he gets to go back to Tacloban before he comes home.

Picture is from the LDS Newsroom here.

Miracles

I don't adequately know how to write how I'm feeling, so I guess I'll just tell what happened.

Thursday night my mom texted us saying there was a typhoon headed for my brother and cousin who are both on missions in the Philippines. We didn't think too much of it because there were always storms and stuff going on and they were just fine.

Friday afternoon I checked the news to see what was going on with the typhoon and realized it was a HUGE storm, the biggest one on record... and it hit Tacloban, the city where Brian was serving, inside and out. (Thankfully Manila hardly saw the storm so my cousin was just fine.)We felt that he was safe, but there's always that thought in the back of your mind that maybe he's not. The Church news said they'd found most of the missionaries safe except for some in the Tacloban mission. That scared  me since it was Brian's mission.

Saturday morning mom texted again to tell us the Area Presidency had called telling her that Brian was safe and unhurt. That was a huge relief to have confirmation that he was okay. But we still didn't know where he was, if he had food, water or shelter. Then on Sunday night we got a short email from him saying he was just fine and he was being moved to Manila for a time. That was another huge relief, but we still didn't know very much.

I kept looking at the news, I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it! I saw horrible pictures and stories and felt sick thinking Brian might be enduring some of those things. I felt almost spoiled as I vacuumed, blow dried my hair, went to sleep in my nice warm bed... I didn't know if Brian had those things.

Then just last night he called home! He is in the Manila MTC, after a ferry ride and a 14 hour bus ride. He wasn't in Tacloban when the storm hit, but in his apartment 500km away being shielded by a small mountain. And he slept, he SLEPT! through the whole thing, waking up every few hours to keep the kitchen from flooding.

I cannot describe the feeling of gratitude and the absolute magnificent power of God I feel, that EVERY SINGLE missionary is safe and accounted for.

Girl's Weekend

A few weeks ago we all headed up to Idaho to stay at my Grandparent's cabin for the weekend. We took the kids since we figured they would have fun playing together and in the snow. So really, I guess it ended up being a weekend off for all the hubbies!

The three of us rode up with my sister so we had a van full of kiddos! We did pretty good I think, and only had to stop twice on the long drive.

We had a great time, lots of chatting, not sleeping, rocking babies and making ribbon Christmas trees.

It was fun seeing my Aunt Suz and Grandma Adair that we don't get to see very often.

And of course, the kids did have a blast in the snow!