What's Your Vote?

The boys all cast their votes on what they want baby Harris #4 to be!

Kade wants a little girl SO badly; I think Joe and I would both like a girl. Carter says "No." to either question, "Do you want a brother/sister?". And, Ben wants a boy, because "Kid girls are bossy." Haha. We'll see what awaits! But, I know no matter what, we'll all be excited.

Mini Golfing!

A friend of mine volunteers at a non-profit place that held a fundraiser at Fiesta Fun Center. Families could come, donate and play a round of golf. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning, so I'm glad we took advantage of the fun and the opportunity to help the community. Grandma was in town to join the fun.

 

We played a few arcade games after golfing, and our names were all entered into drawings for prizes. And, the boys and grandma all won something! Ben won a remote control race car thing, Kade won twice! He got a huge thing full of foam things that you can bend and shape and build into things, and a tub of soccer men (kind of like little army men), and Carter won a little puzzle, perfect. Grandma came away with dinner for two at a steakhouse, AND a one night stay at a local hotel. Perfect! We all had a great time and met up with Joe (he spent the morning moving families in and out of the ward) for lunch. Great Saturday!

Another Great Ben-ism and Kade-ism

Ben, "I love life. I've been at this for seven years."
I need to be more like this.


Kade: "Carter's face looks like all our faces: you(dad), mom, Ben and me. And he's just too cute! He gets his cuteness from *my* face."
I love a confident kid.

I'm so in Awe.

I just noticed on Ben's calendar, that he counted three days back from "Easter" and wrote in "Jesus Died" in the square.    
I love this boy! and love that he thought of that all on his own. I don't even know when he marked that on his calendar. I love it.

Sand Hollow

Feeling a like we wanted to do something fun as a family, Joe and I headed to Sand Hollow. I had never been there before, and neither had the boys. It was awesome! How did I live in St. G for four years and never visit?! The weather was perfect -it was still early March and we were out enjoying water and a sunny beach. How awesome is that?!

 Kole had only passed away a little while before, and we figured Kally would LOVE getting out and playing. She totally had a great time too. It was nice to have her included in our day.

 

 Joe and the boys built sandcastles. They were very particular, and they did a great job. I think they're hooked.

Just a week later, Grandma came to visit, so we went to Sand Hollow again, so she could enjoy it. The boys were thrilled to be back there again, and it was another successful day playing!

 

Thank You St. G!

One of the things I like the most about St. George, is the fact that in March I can go hiking with my boys! It was a beautiful day -the perfect temperature, It's Spring Break for Ben and Kade, and I want to make sure we get and out do stuff this week. Today I was really feeling the need to just go and be with "me and the boys". No friends and no distractions. (although we've had that this week too.)

 A friend showed me a kid friendly hike in Snow Canyon. They hadn't hiked it yet, so it was perfect.

 I love the sight of my three little...oops...BIG boys outside on a beautiful day. I love that they wear hats too. I've always loved that.

 Once we got to the end, before turning back around, we stopped for water and snacks.

 The boys enjoyed the varying landscape of rocks to sand. They found sticks, of course, to walk with and play in the sand with. Rocks, sticks and sand/dirt equal the best things on earth for little boys.

Carter did really well hiking along. Near the end he was pretty tuckered out and wanted to be carried. No problem. It was a great way to start a day, and a fun thing to add to the things we did on Spring Break. I love spending time with these amazing boys. They're fun, outgoing, and willing to do and try hard things. Ben even carried my back pack while I carried Carter and said, "I like to be challenged. This is my favorite part." I'm grateful for the memories made today.

Where Do They Get This Stuff?!

Kade just came out and announced that he flushed the toilet.....PURPOSELY.... because Ben is taking a shower. How does he even know that trick?! Hahaha


After Ben casually let one rip as he walked down the hall, I said, "Oh my goodness Ben, ya farty kid."

He matter of factly replied, "It's what I do."

 

Our Koley. We Miss Him.

Today our Kole passed away. After drastically losing weight over just a couple weeks, Joe took him to the vet. The guess was cancer.
That night, I couldn't help but pray Kole would pass and be out of his misery. It was hard to know how badly he was suffering.The next morning Joe and I talked about putting him to sleep. Before Joe left, I asked him to check on Kole for me before he left. I couldn't bare the thought of "finding him".....gone. Joe went downstairs as I loaded up the boys to head to the bus stop. When he came back up, I asked him, "Is he gone?" and Joe answered, "Yeah." I got teary and cried. Joe was solemn and sad, but headed to work. He'd bury him after.
That day I bought a nice big box, and I placed Kole's body in it covered with new towels. I let the boys see Kole, and they cried when they saw me cry.
After work Joe would come home and take Kole to bury him. I took the three boys to a parent teacher conference (for Ben), and we figured there was ne need to go along with Joe or for Joe come with us and postpone things.
When we got home, Kole was gone. Joe buried him in a desert where they had gone running before.

Joe and I got Kole in our first year of marriage. He was our first "child" or thing to take care of whole heartedly. The trip we made to get him was also the last time we saw and spent with Lynn, Joe's dad, before he passed away. Lynn loved Kole, and there was always that tie to Lynn for us. We trained Kole and spoiled him when he was young. We taught him to catch the Frisbee, which he did remarkably. We regret the time we didn't spend with him after children were born and our time was so limited. He grew anxious and wanted to be doing more. He was sweet to Kally and always took care of her. Since he's been gone, she's never stopped following me around. She misses him. I am glad to know that Kole is not suffering, and I picture him in Heaven playing frisbee with Lynn. I'm glad he's eternally happy. We miss him. He was a great dog.

Best Conversation I ever Over Heard.

Joe: "Satan's pretty smart Kade, don't underestimate him."
Ben: "Yeah, like when he turned Anakin to the dark side...."

hahaha

Kade the Amazing!

I found these pictures of Kade that I couldn't forget to post. Kade in his "crazy hair" get up. Very funny. This year we added the color to the eyebrows -so funny. He looked great for his class, and felt very cool.
The other pictures are of  the many many things Kade has built out of legos. Kade is amazing! He's not one to go off just instructions alone, he creates his own things. His mind is full of creativity! He's very good at being symmetrical, and thorough. He is thoughtful in every brick -it is truly awesome to watch. What else is impressive, is that he builds something amazing, feels proud over what he's done, then takes it apart, and within minutes builds a whole new, completely different  thing. He's awesome, and I know we'll do all we can to keep this creative inventing going.

 

SWEDEN!

Joe is now getting his Masters Degree through a program at Lund University in Sweden! All expenses paid -the course and all the travel! What a blessing! It is the most incredible opportunity, and the hand of the Lord was, no doubt, in it all the way. Joe has often talked about wanting to gain a masters degree, but didn't know the right time to spend the all time and money that it would take. When this chance came along, it was an answer to desires of his heart. And, as a perk, the Lord gave him all this, and then made it only available out of the country! Joe has always wanted to travel outside the US, and here's his chance to go (on three separate occasions) FREE! The Lord is great and wants to bless us in all things -not just the important things, like getting a degree, but also in the ability to have an experience you've always wanted. I'm so grateful for this blessing for Joe and our family. 

Joe was in Sweden for 10 days, was able to do a little sight seeing, even though he had class every day, and  it was freezing temperatures outside (January in Sweden -yikes, cold!)
and he had lots of homework. Here are a few of his pictures.

 The main building. Isn't it a beautiful building. Lund is one of Europe's oldest universities, and consistently ranked one of the top 100 universities in the world! Sweet!

 "Ramklints" was a little pastry place I had found on Pinterest, and begged Joe to find and go visit. He obliged me and ate a couple treats here. Oh how I wish I could go there! It looks good.

 His hotel room. Old and European.

 Inside a cathedral near the school.

 The library. Again, beautiful.

This was inside a grocery store. Joe said it was packed as if it were a holiday event, even though it was a regular day. Haha. Fun experience. He brought back goodies for all of us.

 

I am so glad Joe got to go. I was able to talk to him every night just before I went to bed, and right after he woke up that morning. It was interesting to know he was beginning his day while I was falling asleep after mine. We are blessed, and we are grateful! The Lord has been so good to us, and I have no doubt all these things will lead us to greater things. My cup runneth over.

Sad Story but Sweet Boy

Today I got a call to "let me know" that Ben is fine, but a boy in his class just snipped some of Ben's nose off with scissors. The lady from the office told me Ben begged her not to call or send him home. I guess it wasn't that bad. She also said that "Ben's a super sweet kid." He had asked her to "please not get the other kid in trouble."

I told her, "I think I know which kid it is who did this." And, she said, my guess was probably right. But, this incident had been the last straw, and the boy was now expelled from Vista indefinitely.

This boy in Ben's class has struggled from the very first day. Ben would come home and tell me how bad the kid had acted that day. Usually, I would remind him that when people are acting badly, it's probably because they're having a hard time or haven't been taught any better and don't know. I told him to be a friend, and to forgive. Ben took my advice to heart. He made friends with this boy. There were many good days, but also bad. This boy has major home problems and probably in need of medication and counseling.
One day Ben came home and told me that this boy had hit him. Ben said, "I told him, 'I don't care what you do, I am your friend! And, I'm always going to be your friend!' " He really wanted to help and support this boy, or at least give him one steady friend. I admire his dedication and charity.

I'm proud of Ben for his efforts to help this boy, however seeing that this boy had so quickly grabbed scissors, rushed in front of Ben and snipped at his nose (only cutting each side and not snipping skin off) I realize how quickly Ben could have lost an eye, or something more dramatic. I started feeling relief that Ben would no longer have to be around this child who needed so much more help than a good first grade friend could give.

 I'm grateful that Ben had the chance to grow and have this experience. I am grateful that the Lord blessed Ben and kept him safe. I want Ben to help others, but there will be those he can't. I pray the Lord will bless him and me to know the difference and keep Ben safe throughout his life. I'm glad that things weren't worse. I am glad my Ben thought to plead for this child not to be punished. We will pray for this other boy.

Sweet Brothers

In the car this morning:
Kade: "Hey, Carter!"
Carter: "Huh?"
Kade: "I love you."
Carter: "Wuv oo."
Me and Kade: "Awwwww."
Kade:"When we get home, I totally owe him a hug."

The Perfect Begining of Me vs. Three Week.

We've literally been home, from Vegas (after dropping Joe off at the aiport to go to Sweden), for mere minutes when Carter askes for a bath. I get the water ready, put him in, and go start a load of laundry. I come back to a tub filled with "#2" floatin' around and several bigger pieces lying on the floor, which Carter threw out of the tub to help clean out the water. Wish me luck with my Me vs. Three week -the fun has already begun.

Kade's Five!!!

Kade is FIVE! And, he had his first friend party. We rented a party room at the Washington City Community Center. (We had the party a few days before his actual b-day.) We had pizza, veggies, drinks and cupcakes! Then after opening gifts all the boys got to go swimming! Who has a swim party in the middle of January? So awesome! All the kids were thrilled. Thank heaven for indoor pools! I wish I had gotten pictures of the swimming. Aunt Nattie and Grandma came to celebrate and swim. It was a great party.

It's nice when you get two parties! Even with a friend party we were still going to celebrate on his actual birthday. Kade is incredible. He is so creavtive and inventive. He is SO thoughtful of others, and wants to take care of every body. He's amazingly funny -I swear he's funnier than most adults I know. Kade is always good for a great hug and kiss, and a humorous conversation. He is such a great kid with so much motivation, so much wonder and such a deep thinker. He's the best middle brother. He's the best friend to Ben and the best helper and teacher for Carter. We love him! I'm amazed by his growth and maturity. He's just getting so big! Happy Birthday Kader bum; we love you!