Wedding = A New Sister

Today my brother Jason got married in the Salt Lake Temple to Alina. Hailey was the flower girl, and Xander was the ring bearer. The reception was in the Hampton House, and it was a lot of fun. There was a life size cut out of Nathan (he's on his mission in Mexico), and it was great seeing lots of the Gandolph side.

Its fun getting a new sister. Alina is Russian and super sweet. She speaks fluent English (although it's her second language... but I love her accent), her mom speaks English as well, so we can communicate, but her sister doesn't speak a lot of English, so I taught the kids how to say "Hello, my name is..." in Russian. It was a hit :) Alina is the only member of the church in her family, so they exchanged rings at the reception. I can't wait to get to know Alina better - I just met her yesterday. Jason and her have known each other for 5 years (they met prior to his mission), and she became a member while he was on his mission.

It was super windy outside after the wedding, and the pictures show it... unfortunately, most of the pictures were lost on my Aunt Carrie's camera, but we salvaged what we could and I'll be editing them for Jason and Alina (in between spending time with my sister, being a mom/wife, and full time student... AAH! What did I get myself into??) I love the family picture outside of the temple... it's hilarious... and the guy in my family you don't recognize is Josh Ferris... he's like a brother :) (and the girl hanging out with Xander is my cousin (his 2nd cousin) Erica Gandolph (My Uncle Todd/Auntie Sue's daughter)

2nd Tooth

Xander's been asking me to take out his tooth today... it was so wiggly. But it was stuck by one big root. Finally right before he went to bed, he came in my room when I was doing homework to have me try again. So I did... and kept his tooth in my hand while he was like, "I taste blood". He rinsed out his mouth and I quietly showed Hailey... she quickly told Xander, and he was so surprised and excited. It was so cute to watch.

Hailey's Last Day of School...

Today was Hailey's last day of school... I am not making her go the last few days... we are going to the wedding, and an incident happened that I was not thrilled with the way the teacher handled it. Unfortunately, Hailey left the school with not fond memories.

Hailey was playing a game with one of her friends, and Hailey won. She playfully said "haha" to her friend, and they went on about their business. Hailey found out that she had hurt the little girls feelings, and felt bad so she apologized. But the teacher took the situation to extremes... after she knew Hailey had apologized she made her move her clip down to a naughty spot, kept her in from recess to scold her and tell her she was being mean, and being a bully... of course Hailey was crying, felt sick to her stomach so she went to the nurses office. I got a call from the nurse, who told me she talked Hailey into going back to class, and didn't know what happened, but that Hailey felt I would be disappointed in her. Not knowing the situation, I just picked her up as usual. The teacher walked her out, and spoke with me. After she told me how Hailey was being mean to a girl with slight learning disabilities (whom I've met and you would never know that... plus she and Hailey are friends... but whatever), I said thank you for letting me know, and left. I wanted the story from Hailey. After piecing everything together in my head, I knew my daughter had been wronged. I told Hailey I was not disappointed in her, she did nothing wrong, although she needs to be more careful not to gloat when winning a game, because it could hurt someones feelings. I told her I was proud of her for apologizing on her own, and I was sorry she had to endure her teachers overreaction. I called Cody to let him know the situation and ask him if it was okay to keep her home for the last 3 days of school. He agreed with me, and I told Hailey... she was SO excited. Then I reminded her to remember all the fun she had at her other schools, and that not all schools or teachers are like Mrs. Ritter at Lake Valley (did I ever mention she has a nose ring and wears cleavege shirts all the time?) Anyways, I'm excited to be putting the kids in Liberty next year.

Solar Eclipse

Today was the solar eclipse. We headed out north (west of Paulden) to get a glimpse. I brought my new ipad with the star walk feature to track it easier. Of course Cody found a dead cow, so he took the kids over to look at it... gross :) but they had fun. They loved being on the top of our Suburban and using my sunglasses to view the eclipse (since we didn't have time to make those viewers)... it was neat watching how the color the sun projected onto the earth was so hazy during the eclipse... the camera took a reflective shot, which was wierd but cool... it was fun.

Early Birthday Present

Cody wanted to bring me with him to help him pick out my birthday present so I would have it in Utah... an ipad! I got it in black, and I'm so excited, Thank you Cody! This will help with school, and we can even put Netflix on it for the kids! My first app I added was Gospel Library... it has everything on there! Scriptures, Magazines, Videos, Lessons, FHE's, it's awesome!

After we got it from Apple in the Chandler Mall, we went to meet Cody's parents (who had the kids) at Cafe Rio {Gilbert and Baseline}. There we saw our Stake President, my cousin Brandi and her husband Matt, some people from our old ward in Gilbert... it was CRAZY!

Talent Show

Hailey's school did a talent show, and Hailey signed up to sing. She did Miley Cyrus' version of "Part of Your World" - from The Little Mermaid. She was AWESOME! We filmed it, so it's in our collection... She worked the crowd, worked the stage, and was a gorgeous little ham! She wore a cute turquoise dress with a tulle slip that I made with help from Shayla (Cody's cousin's wife)... and I did her hair... she was so adorable! {always is though} Cody came from work to see it, and she just seemed so at ease on stage, but before... she looked so nervous... once she started though, the rest was history. She even blew the crowd a kiss as she walked off stage.

We're SO proud of you Hailey!!! You did FABULOUS!!

{Brielle picked out the flowers at costco...Xander wanted roses}

Swimming

We invited Hailey's best friend... Hannah Lau over for swimming and dinner... they had so much fun together. It is great seeing that Hailey has such a good friend. She is in our ward, and her mom {Felicia} is amazing. They were so funny chatting away about things that are important to 7 year olds... boys, marriage, school, outfits... it was super cute. After swimming they decided to wash their hair in the shower and fill the tub to make it a "hot tub" then they did each others hair... I love how they get along!

Little Red

Hailey's class put on a play today... and Hailey was the lead... "Little Red Riding Hood". She did fabulous! It was a part of {Reader's Theatre} where the kids showed off their skills reading. We borrowed the cape from her Grandma Johnson, and afterwards, we went into her classroom where she received the award for being the {Most Organized} this year. Great Job Hailey!!!

I had Xander take the pictures so I could film... great job Xander!

Mother's Day

Today was one of the best days ever... I woke up to the kids bringing me eggs and cinnamon/sugar toast with a glass of milk. Then I got ready for church... Cody got all the kids ready. We went to church, I did the first hour of nursery- so I could get the kids finger painted handprints done... then I went to relief society. We had chocolate covered strawberries, and I went home with lots of pictures from the kids. I went into my room to write each one of my kids a letter, and they made me a yummy chicken sandwich with avacado, tomato, sprouts, lettuce... on honey wheat bread from sprouts... YUM! I gave each of the kids their letters, we all did our handprints on a piece of paper, watched "Hop" (I fell asleep on the couch... but what I saw was cute). Then we went for a drive to see Cherry, AZ... I got a call from my mom on the way home saying she was skyping Nathan (on a mission in Mexico), so I could talk to him through her phone and computer to his computer... it was fun, and we all got to talk to him... too bad my phone died. Went home and called again so we could hear Nathan some more. I got Chicken Florentine for dinner with rolls, and got lots of hugs and kisses from my little ones.

Mother's Day is so much fun. I don't have to cook, clean up, or change any diapers... but the best part of Mother's Day is that it is a reminder that I am blessed to have my children... and I get to be THEIR mom.

Being a mom isn't always easy... it's a lot of work, and a lot of learning, but I am working harder each day to become the mom that I want to be... just like my mom. She has been a shining example in my life, and has taught me so much. She has the light of Christ all around her. I hope I can have that too.

One thing that I've learned recently came from a saying I heard... Be the "eye" of the storm... Meaning, even though sometimes it seems like constant chaos; with whining, complaining, fighting (which I refer to as tangles), if I can be the calm part of it all, it will be contagious, and I won't let things get to me as much. It is so funny how before I was a mom, I always knew my kids would be the best behaved, never fight, be well dressed and groomed, and ALWAYS have the best manners... now that I am a mom, I am so grateful when they do say please and thank you without being prompted. I don't care if their socks match, I am lucky when I can find time to trim their nails and get Xander's hair cut,... I've discovered there are more important things than having all the laundry done, all the time. I am trying to raise my children to honor their Heavenly Father, and know that they are loved. Know that they are children of God. I want so much for them, and I want them to know that I love them.

Mother's Day tends to always be a day to honor mothers... and I do. But more personally, it is a time to reflect, set goals, and thank my own 4 blessings for all they do for me.

I am going to put in the letters that I wrote for my children so that they will be published in the book I turn my blog into, in case they want to reflect upon them one day...

Dear Hailey,

I wanted to let you know that I love you so much more than you will ever know. You are such a good example to your little brothers and sister. I love how you help me out without complaining, and you do things without me asking. You are going to be a great mom someday to your own children. Sometimes I feel like I take you for granted. That means I know you will do things to help me, and I don’t thank you for everything you do. I hope you know how thankful I am for you. I hope you know how much I love you and how much you mean to me. You are a wonderful daughter. You are a child of God. You are a special part of our family, and I will always love you, forever! You are smart, and kind. You are talented and the best helper. I am so lucky that I had you first. You know how to make me happy, and you know how to choose the right. Whenever you have any questions, or you are having problems, know that you can come to me. I am here for you. Do you know who else is there for you, besides me and daddy? Heavenly Father!  Please remember that you can turn to Him in prayer. He will answer your prayers, He loves you, and knows you. He wants you to be happy, just like I want you to be happy. Search the scriptures, Hailey; they are true! They are testimonies of Jesus Christ, and will be a guide in your life. I am so thankful for you, Hailey. You are such an amazing daughter, and I am so lucky to have you in my life. I love you. More than you will ever know; more than I can ever say. I love you every day, and I always will. Thank you for being my daughter!

I love you to the moon and back,

        Mommy

Dear Xander,

I love you so much! You are such a good boy, and I am so lucky to have you as my first son! I want you to know that I love you so much, and I always will. Thank you for always knowing how to make me laugh, and being such a wonderful brother to your sisters and to your baby brother. You are a wonderful example to them. You have a great sense of imagination and creativity. You are such a talented artist, and I love your curiosity. You really know how to make me laugh and smile. You make the best silly faces, and I love wondering what you are going to do next. You have such a big spirit in your growing body. I look at you and I know that you are perfect. You are a child of God, and He knows and loves you so much. I love you so much too. Remember that you always need to stand for what’s right, even if it might be hard to do. Remember that you always need to be an example to everyone. You will make a wonderful missionary one day. But you can be a missionary right now too. Do what Jesus would do. You make great choices, and I love you so much. More than I can ever express. More than you will ever hear. It will always be more than that. You are a special boy, Xander. I hope you know that. I hope you know how much you are loved by our family, and by me. I hope you know how smart you are, and you can do anything that you put your mind to. You make me so happy. Thank you for being a special part of our family. I love you son!

Love you more than the stars in the sky,

       Mommy

Dear Brielle,

You are such a wonderful part of my family. I love you so much! You are so sweet, and I love how you cuddle with me when we’re watching a movie on the couch. I love how you love to get your nails painted, love my little pony and strawberry shortcake, and want pink stories and pink songs at bedtime. I love that you are becoming more independent, and even though you don’t always like when I do your hair, you will still let me… most of the time. You are so loved. You have such a sweet and gentle spirit. When daddy and I are playing around and you think my playful slug was a hit, you are so adamant that I don’t “hit”. You are so caring when one of your siblings is in trouble. You always go over to them and ask if they are okay, and you aren’t very happy with me for putting them in a time out. I love that about you, Brielle. Your heart is so big, and so full of love. My heart is so full of love for you. I hope you realize how much I love you, and I love being your mommy. I am so blessed to have you for my youngest daughter. You bring such happiness into my life. You make me smile and you make me laugh. You are such the poser for the camera, and I love it. You love to sing, play patty cake (but you don’t let me draw on your palm because it tickles you), but yet, you love when I tickle you. Thank you so much for being a part of my family. I love you so much, and I am so blessed. Brielle, you are a child of God. He loves you so much. I am going to teach you about the true and everlasting Gospel. It brings happiness into my life, and it will to yours too. You are so precious, and I love how when I call you baby, you correct me with “princess”. You are a princess, and I love you!

Love you more than a horse loves carrots,

 Mommy

Dear Weston,

You haven’t been part of our family for very long, but I feel like you’ve always belonged to our eternal family. You bring such a sweet spirit into our home, and your smiles are so contagious. You make me giggle every time you crawl all over me in my bed so you can try to see what’s over the ledge, or find yourself in the mirror. You are such a fun little boy, and so well behaved. You take great naps, and even though you are teething, and your sleep schedule has been interrupted by that at night, I don’t mind. I love you so much! You are such a special son, and I am blessed to have you as my youngest. You bring me such pride and joy. I love watching you grow and pull all the dvds off the shelves. You are almost standing on your own, and though I yearn for you to stay little forever, I am so excited with each new milestone. One day you will be big enough to serve a mission for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I will try my hardest to help you prepare for your mission. You are a son of God. He loves you and watches over you. I love you and I will always be here for you. Thank you so much for joining our family. You are such a wonderful little one, and I love you more than you will ever know.

Love you more than the grains of sand,

       Mommy



Shooting the Gap

In car terms, shooting the gap is when you're squeezing in between two cars in the other lane... in Weston's terms, it filling in a tooth in his gap. He wasn't happy with me when I took this picture this morning, as you can see, it freshly cut through, which explains why he got up 5 times last night, and why Cody and I are so exhausted. Poor guy, it looks tender. (He also got 4 shots yesterday- I was a few months behind on his 6 month shots... whoops!)

old NAVY

I was at Target today with the three youngest, and while walking in the main aisle, an old man is walking towards us. All of a sudden he salutes, says "Navy!" and then awkwardly lowers his salute, and as he quickly passes us quietly says, "oh...OLD navy". He must have seen Xander's shirt. He was gone before I could ease his probable embarrassment by telling him my brother in law was an officer in the Navy, my husband was in the Marines for 8 years, both of my brothers are in the Air Force-with one graduating from the Air Force Academy in a few weeks. Oh well... it was funny though. Poor guy.

Addicted...

My little Brielle has an addiction... her bottle. We've tried for months to get her to ween off of it... buying special sippy cups, trying to convince her that she's a big girl, and Weston gets a bottle because he's a baby... she is so stubborn. For the past week, I've been focusing on not giving her one during the day time (including naps) - (she used to get one as long as she would lay down... I never gave her one to walk around with)... its been hard. She cries, begs, and yells... and she asks for Daddy, cause she's sure he'll cave in :)

Today I layed with her after lunch to get her to take a nap. She kept asking for her bottle. I would explain that if she's thirsty, I'll get her a drink, but no bottle. I'll get her a sippy, but no bottle. After a good half hour of her stubbornness, she decided she was tired, and her eyes started getting heavy. With her red blotchy face, she finally dozed off into dreamland, where even though today's nap time was hard, I still consider it a success. I never caved in to make it easier on me. I am only thinking of her, and what's best for her in the long run. Sometimes Motherhood is hard, but I can do hard things... and I am.

Quote that Cody Loves: "never give up what you want in the future for what is easiest right now". So true in this situation, and in life!



Yes, I'm married to Cody

Today was fast and testimony meeting. We have 8am church, and getting 4 little ones plus ourselves ready, fed, and out the door by 7:45am is pretty hard... needless to say, we were a few minutes late today. Well, time was turned over to the congregation to speak, and it was silence... we were in the last row because there were three baby blessings today. I decided to get up. My heels were SO loud on the floor, and I felt like everyone was staring at me on my long walk to the microphone. I bore my testimony and then walked in the hallway to the last row so I wouldn't be so loud. After church, Cody turned to me in the car and said, "You know, I was looking at you bearing your testimony today, and I thought, man, am I glad I'm married to her because if I wasn't, I would totally be sinning!" along with, "You're so beautiful" and "I'm so lucky!"

 So, yes, I am married to him, and he is always saying those types of things :)

Gilbert Temple Construction

Today we had the opportunity to go to the Mesa Temple and do initiatories. The spirit was amazing, and Cody's parents watched the kids while Cody and I went. Afterwards, we let the kids play with some of their cousins that came over, and then went to go look at the Gilbert Temple that is under construction. They are almost done, it is looking Fantastic! Hailey already decided that is where she wants to get married. After that we walked around the outdoor mall in Gilbert- of course went to the disney store... bought Brielle and Weston swimsuits, bought Hailey new sneakers, went and saw the puppies, grabbed some dinner at El Pollo Loco, and then headed home since we have 8am church tomorrow. All the kids fell asleep in the car on the way home, and it was really nice to be able to just talk with Cody for a long time before we decided we were both going to fall asleep, and went to bed. It was a great day.

Westons Newest Teeth

Weston's top teeth are coming in a funny order,... see for yourself :) We think its hilarious... cute, and hilarious! He has a major gap right now... you can see the fifth one is on its way, all this teething explains some restless nights, always chewing on his hands, toys, or whatever he can get in his mouth, and lots of drooling!