Fourth of July 2018

We hadn't planned really anything for Fourth Of July this year as it came right after our San Diego trip. And usually we are in San Diego for the 4th so we don't have traditions that we do at home. 

Then two days ago, I got a text from Kym Harvey that Leah was going to be in town and they would have a BBQ. So we were happy to accept the invitation.

Troy and I spent several hours in the morning doing yard work. I actually enjoy doing yard work and working with Troy.  We laid pipe down the back of the yard to hope that our yard will get approved by the HOA on Monday. We also went to Home Depot to buy mulch and some more flowers for the planters. 

Two of our pine trees died in the spring so I have been cutting them down. 

It got hot and sweaty so we were happy to be able to go and swim at Villa. Miio started shivering about 45 minutes into the swim so we just snuggled together for a bit which felt perfect on the hot pavement.

Miio would also stand up on his own in the splash area and take a step and a half before falling down. He crawls toward the deeper end, so you have to be on your toes with him. However, he does like water which is fun. 

We made a quick stop at King Soopers for hot dogs, Oreos, strawberries, and grapes. It was "bring your own meat", and side dishes party so we brought berries and grapes which were quickly gone.

We had a fun evening at the Harveys with Leah's family, the Roys, Scheullers, and Brintons.

Miio was determined to climb on the hoverboard. And the coolest thing was that Miio took his first several steps. He kept doing it over and over again.  Miio was also a hit with the 9 and 10 year old girls. They took turns holding him and walking around with him. It made it a relaxing night for me.

Saku had fun hanging out with Andrew and listening to music and having impromptu dance parties. Eerika enjoyed playing Spike Ball with Troy.

I was touched that Leah wanted to see us on her way through. She is just so down to earth and kind. It felt so good to spend an evening with her.

Troy took Saku and Aleksi to watch fireworks from the Costco parking lot as they were shooting fireworks over the baseball field. It ended up pouring rain so no fireworks. Aleksi fell asleep in the car. Eerika chose not to go and fell asleep in our bed. Miio fell asleep quickly as he was up until 9 pmwith only one nap.

Sefless kids in action

Grandma made Aleksi a weighted blanket a few months ago. Eerika requested one as well and it arrived in the mail today.

Saku was sad about not having one for himself. When Troy asked Saku why he hadn't asked for one, he said he didn't want to be selfish.

Aleksi then offered his blanket to Saku. "Saku can use my blanket, I dont mind".

When Troy picked up Aleksi's stuffed dragon from the floor, Aleksi told him that Saku threw it down. Troy said "no, i knocked it down". But Aleksi insisted that Saku had thrown it. First Saku denied it, but then said "I didn't mean to do it. I'm sorry."

This is a big deal as Saku can have a hard time accepting responsibility and apologizing.

Aleksi responded,"Apology accepted".

Wisdom Teeth Removal

I got my four wisdom teeth pulled out on Thursday. This should have happened years ago but it was just not convenient. However, one of them had gotten bad enough that I finally just went for it.

Corban and Mary were nice to arrange some x-rays for me when the kids to Kids Rock so it was one less appointment that I had to figure out. And the oral surgeon was able to get me in within a week!

Troy stayed home on Thursday so he did have to work. So this is where my amazing friends came in.

Jess had Aleksi and Miio at her house while I was in the surgery.

Troy picked the boys up after he dropped me off; Miio came to nap at home while Aleksi went to Anders' house. Nicole had Aleksi until it was time to go to piano at 4:15.

The kids didn't have school on Friday, so Missie took Eerika, Aleksi and Miio to her house. They were there all day! Saku hung out here for a while in the morning and then Jennie came to get him so he could play with James. Jennie also brought me ice cream. Nicole dropped off a homemade smoothie! And Lisa bought some toilet paper for us and dropped it off here. 

On Saturday, I finally got really swollen so Troy took the kids to the library (for four hours), Fox Run Park and Chick-Fil-A.  Dani dropped off a Jamba Juice to me.  I was in bed, worked on my blog and read books and took a nap all day long.

They had a snowball fight. And Saku had said to Troy "This has been a great day. We should do this more".

Miio was pretty happy to be a big kid at the playplace at Chick-Fil-A. 

This morning (day #4) seemed to be the toughest and I was a bit worried about a complication with a dry socket but I feel better now after medication and nap. 

Missie also brought me ice cream, yogurt, applesauce, chocolate milk, and an icepack on Wednesday night. 

I feel so loved. I feel so grateful. I feel so inspired to be a better friend. To go beyond the little gestures but to truly look out for the people in my life. 

Saku on the Mountain

Saku really excelled during this ski season. He learned resilience and grit on the mountain. Troy and he would hike between peaks and ski down the mountain. 

He improved technically as well as he would ski black diamond runs, moguls, and enjoyed the terrain park. Our new gopro clocked him going 35 miles an hour. 

The best part about skiing for him is the fact that he feels happy there and good about himself while he is tackling those runs. So now I try to relate things to skiing and remind him how he does challenging runs on his skis which means he can do challenging things in other aspects of life as well.

Troy and he had an amazing day of skiing fresh powder on our 4th day in Keystone. Isaac and Jess joined them and they tackled some tree runs. Everyone described it as an epic day. 

I am sort of waiting for our first ski injury but we escaped it for another season.

Saku skied 15 days this year.  And ended up ski season with ski days with Isaac.

Eerika's First Grade Performance

Eerika's first grade performance was about snowflakes and how each one of them is unique. Her costume was her white nightgown that Grandma made for her. 

Maelle's mom, Jelena, had roses for Maelle and Maelle generously shared them with her friends. 

Eerika had genuinely thought that she might get the solo part for this performance. She was disappointed as she didn't get any speaking part; however, she knew most of her friends' parts. Her eyes started bothering her about 10 minutes before the performance was over. She kept itching them but made it through the peformance. 

We went to Lulu's frozen yogurt with the Callisters and Maelle and Jelena. The girls also invited Luke, so Luke had all the girls' attention on him and I don't think he minded. 

Eerika still seems to be crushing on Luke while she doesn't talk about it much, but she did say that she likes Luke because"he is kind and funny".

Eerika's Primary Talk on Resurrection

In a few weeks it is Easter. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Resurrection is your body connecting with your spirit again.

My grandma died before I was born. I am grateful that we can be resurrected just like Jesus was, .so I can be with her again.

The prophet Alma teaches us:

“Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost”



(Share Testimony)

The crazy beautiful of our lives

Today was a hectic day. Saku was supposed to go to school at 7 to watch a musical with his choir; however, when I went to his room at 6:20 and he was exhausted because he couldn't sleep well with his braces on. So he came to snuggle me in bed and we slept until 7 am. It was actually sweet to have him right there by me and to know that I was giving him comfort.

Saku has a rough time eating breakfast. I gave him some ibuprofen and he seemed okay enough to go to school. I did write a note to Senorita Jarnigan that said that I would be happy to pick Saku up if needed.

When I got the kids off to school, I got a text from Mary asking if I could watch Samantha. So Samantha got dropped off around 8:30. At first, Samantha had a really rough time but she eventually settled down and was happy and then Amy picked her up.

After Miio's first nap, we went swimming at Villa. We met Nicole and Missie there, and then I noticed a phone call from Saku asking to pick him up. So I left Aleksi with Nicole and Anders and drove to the school to pick Saku up. I called the orthodontics office on my way and got an appointment at 12. We went to the appointment and Saku's mouth started to feel much better. 

So he went back to school, and Nicole was awesome to take Aleksi home with her so after I put Miio down for a nap I was able to fold some laundry, do an instagram post and some overall cleaning. I got another call from the school and when I saw the number, I thought they were calling about Saku again. However, this time it was about Eerika. She got kicked in the eye and had a cut. She was okay to stay in school. It ended up being Ivy who kicked her, but 

Aleksi came home and we hung out for a while before big kids came home.

They were both pretty tired. Saku did go and play with Luke for a bit.

The other kids took a bath at 4 pm. We had pannukakku for dinner. Eerika was tired. Saku was hurting. It got a bit crazy for a while but we settled down ok. Saku watched some Olympics and Aleksi and Eerika watched a movie upstairs until 7:15 or so. I put Miio to bed. Saku fell asleep on the couch and I actually carried him upstairs to the guest room.

Aleksi is sleeping in Saku's bed. Troy is in Provo for a recruiting trip at BYU. I need to clean the kitchen but I wanted to write down about my life. 

Miio is all over crawling. Tonight he crawled all the way from his bedroom to the playroom and then stood up against one of our stepping stools. 

He is seriously such a sweet and amazing little baby boy. 

Saku has been truly brave during this braces situation. He asked me to be with him when he was getting the braces on. It was sweet to hold his hand. He chose black and red rubber bands because he thought it would be a "good combination".

Aleksi is so lucky to have his group of friends. He is such an articulative boy with so many clever things to say.  He plays very well with Anders. He and Jaxon are a bit more like so they either play really well or disagree and both are stubborn. 

Fall Colors

The last weekend of September, we drove to check out the changing colors in the Mueller State Park, about an hour away from us.  It is so nice to have the change of seasons. I am sure there will be days when I will miss the Arizona sun, but so far, I am embracing the gloomy weather and the temperature changes.

I take a lot of pictures of Aleksi because he is just an easy target. Saku seems to get a shaft and he appears in very few pictures. Maybe it is because he is having so much fun and doing things that I can't keep up with him and snap pictures...

October 2015

Saku's project

"On a scale from 0-10, how much I want to wear my pajamas I am five. So I can't make the decision."

Saku had a project to build a community building. He ended up doing a ski resort. I thought it was due on October 23rd, so we left nice and early so we wouldn't be rushing while carrying the project. Ukki was even here so he came with Saku. And then we get to school and realize that he is the only one walking with a project and we were bringing it to school a week early. He didn't want to stand out so I came home with it and he took it to school the next week.

October 2015

The First Lost Tooth

Saku lost his first tooth today. It happened at school, which probably made it even cooler since he was surrounded by his peers when it happened. When you are six years old, losing a tooth is a cool thing!

He wrote the most adorable note to the tooth fairy. Yet the more darling part is the fact that he wants to show it to isi so he will wait until tomorrow night before collecting his reward from the tooth fairy. I wrote a note to the tooth fairy to inform about our special situation. 

Saku is not convinced that tooth fairy is real, but I think he is pretty confident that he will get something cool for his first tooth.

October 22, 2015

Family update

Aleksi has been diaper free for the past six days. We just decided to try to say "bye bye to diapers" as we have had him go pee in the potty every once in a while.

On Tuesday we had one kakka accident and several pee accidents as he was wearing pants. But he was also peeing in the potty and stayed dry during nap so I wasn't feeling too discouraged. I canceled volunteering for Wednesday and went to the gym at 5:30 so we could stay home all day and not put pull ups except for Eerika's gymnastics lesson.  He went to pee at the gym three times. 

He did wake up crying  around midnight after the second day because he had a huge poop in his pull up. Poor kid had probably been holding it all day so it must have been a very unpleasant way to wake up. He slept the rest of the night in our bed. 

Friday was a break through when he went kakka on his own in the potty and pulled his pants down and sat down on the potty to pee while I was downstairs. We went to the park for an hour and had no accidents. He learned the art of peeing by a tree. 

So we braved Saku's basketball game and church without a pull up. And no accidents. He did have a poop accident while playing outside. I wasn't nearby so I don't know if he tried to say he had to go. He definitely thinks it is so gross when he has an accident. 

Eerika has become much better about letting me her hair. It is a small thing but it does make me happy to see her hair put up and looking nice. She wears her non-prescription glasses every day with few exceptions. She is liking her new gymnastics gym. She has done new skills and I like how they do a variety of things each week. Her favorite thing has been her coach Isaac because he is a boy and he is funny. 

Saku loves video games. He becomes very responsible and dedicated to getting stuff done when the reward is a video game time. He has also really enjoyed listening to General Conference talks when he goes to bed. He says that he can feel the spirit and it helps him not have nightmares.

Written June 3, 2017

Thoughts on Newborn Time

Written on August 6th

Having a newborn has always been one of the hardest times for Troy and I. I am tired. I get stressed out about baby's sleep. He gets frustrated that I am stressed. He feels like he doesnt get enough time with me. I get frustrated that he doesn't understand how tired I am. We are aware of this and we talk about it openly. 

Obviously it has only been two and half weeks but I feel like Troy and I are working really well as a team. It started from Little Moose's labor and birth. He was so helpful both physically and mentally that I really felt connected to him in a way that I haven't felt with the other births. 

I have made an effort to focus on him, even if it is just for 10 minutes before going to sleep so he feels loved and important. He has been great about helping in the mornings and often he will ask "how is your night" if he wakes up and I am feeding Little Moose. The other night I fell asleep with Little Moose on my chest and he woke up and saw it and gently put Little Moose in his bassinet so I could sleep more comfortably. 

I am grateful for the unity and team work we have right now. I am grateful that I am able to be less stressed out and he is being 

Monarch Ski

Gatorade mustache seems to be the look when the kids go skiing. Cliff bars, PB&J sandwiches and trail mix are the snacks.

Troy and Saku went on the Wolf Ranch Ski trip to Monarch. They went with Saku's classmate Elliott's family.  They had a great time and Saku really liked Monarch.

Troy watched 6 episodes of Taken on the bus since he didn't have to be driving. 

The HOA provided bagels for breakfast and pizza for dinner. They also had tons of snacks and Saku reported that he ate 12 rice crispy treats. He also threw up that night...

Saku is a very skilled skier. He can do black diamonds and Troy even said that he thinks that Saku could keep up when he goes skiing Kyle and Trent.

Christmas Presents 2017

Christmas Morning was a success.  

Eerika's presents from joulupukki were art supplies and kiwi crate about the body.

She got "pet" dog and cat, Little Mermaid movie (now that I think of it a month after, I don't think she really cared for that one), new underwear, new clothes, and now I can't think of what else.

Miio only got one present from us! It was a bag of yogurt melts:) He did get a book from Mio& Bailey and super cute pants and a shirt from Aino and Tatu.

 Eerika was super concerned about getting everyone a present.

Saku's Christmas list was all about Nerf guns and he got two! Joulupukki got him one and then Eerika found one from Goodwill for less than 10 bucks! Joulupukki also gave him a crate with spin art that he was eager to do. He got the first three Harry Potter movies, (I don't think we have still seen the third one),  a two sets of pants and shirts. He got Pokemon socks that he has loved.  He got a pocket knife from Mio&Bailey. The third HP illustrated book from Grandma, and X-wing (star wars) books as well. 

Eerika got a nightgown, a mug with "E" and pumpkin spice hot chocolate from Grandma and Granpa.

Aleksi's number one desire was to get Jackson Storm. And Joulupukki delivered! He also got a crate to build a music set. He got tons of new underwear and tons of CARS cars (Thanks to Jenni Anderson) , and Lighting McQueen shoes. He loved them all. And just the other day he told me "Thank you for giving me these shoes" He also got new ski gloves from Aino and Tatu.

Eerika got lipsmackers and a necklace from Bailey and Mio. 

 Saku does this funky thing with his hands when he is nervous, bored, or really at any time. 

Our mantle was full of stockings!

Troy got a smoker for Christmas. It got delivered two weeks before Christmas and he saw it so there was no surprise on Christmas morning. It made me pretty sad.  I also did 12 days of Christmas for him.  He got a pair (2) of socks, "One HOT steamy shower", 4 lbs of trail mix, 11 candy canes, $10 gift card to Amazon, six Cliff Bars, Seven minutes in heaven. Now I can't remember what number 8 and 9 were!

 Troy got me biking shoes for my cycling classes at the gym and a really nice down jacket.