Custody Hearing

Today we had our custody hearing for Matthew and I must say our lawyer rocked it.  Sam Chiara represented us and he new his stuff.  It was such a nerve wracking wait, the counter party (Matthew's half aunt and her husband and all of their relatives) waited in the same area as us as we waited to enter the courtroom and to say it was uncomfortable is a complete understatement.  When we were finally let into the courtroom, the honorable judge Anderson heard our case.  After hearing both sides, he decided that it was in Matthew's best interest to remain with our family and set an adoption hearing for June 19, 2013.  As long as no one contests the hearing, we will be able to adopt Matthew that day and won't have to participate in another custody hearing ever again (hallelujah!).  So glad that the hearing went fast and I didn't have to testify.  That was a possibility if the judge decided that he needed to hear more from both parties.  Luckily our lawyer had done research and found a Utah law that states the mother has the decision to place her child with the family of her choice.  Brandy was there to testify that she did indeed choose us to raise and adopt Matthew, but the judge didn't feel it was necessary for her to testify at that point.  What a stressful crazy day, so glad things went well and we are one step closer to moving on with our lives.  

Matthew fell and had a boo boo on his forehead,
Connor drew a smiley face on the band aid to help it heal faster. 

Spring Pictures 2013

 Spring is upon once again and that means spring pictures, baseball, concerts, book fairs, field day, yearbooks and all the other stuff that comes with the end of the school year.  As always, life is busy busy, but oh so fun.  Connor and Kadee have been busy with school, friends, sports, and piano.  They are little social butterflies and love playing ALL.THE.TIME.  I am constantly reminding them homework, chores, and practices come first though.  Rory and I have been busy too, but not with anything exciting.  We run the kids around and Rory is stuck on graveyards so our lives are kind of boring right now.  We have our first custody hearing for Matthew on Friday.  I'm nervous, but more because I don't know what to expect.  Hopefully all will go well and everything will work out for the best, that's all we can hope and pray for. 

 

This little sleeping beauty is FINALLY potty trained!!  Yay!  It took too long, I started working on it before Disneyland, quit, and then started again.  It's been a long time coming but we are so proud of her.  She is so excited because now she can do "nastics" and preschool in the Fall. 

Jazzy gymnastics

Did I mention in an earlier post that Rory and I were over Wellington Jr. Jazz this year?  It comes with him being a council member for Wellington City and is a ton of work.  I worked really hard to get the school district to let us hold some games at the elementary school (we still had the older kids play at city hall) and that made coordinating the times and age groups a lot easier.  Not only did we have to unlock doors and set up chairs for all the games, but Rory coached both Kadee and Connor's teams and even refereed a couple games.  Our awesome nephew Taylor helped with the refereeing as well so it was fun to have everyone at the games to visit with.  So anyway, for all our hard work, the Jr. Jazz program gave us free tickets for a Jazz game on April 12th.  We also had some left over from the tickets we ordered for people to purchase if they wanted to, so we loaded up our car and invited Jessi and Brady to meet us there.  When I say we loaded up our car, I'm not kidding.  My mom watched Kinlee and Debbie kept Matthew so we took:  Connor, Kadee, Jordan Shorts, Gavin Miller, Chet Anderson, and Logan Bradley.  The kids were so fun to listen to in the car, the girls were giggling so hard and the boys were so "annoyed"  but I absolutely loved it.  We had to stop at Sams Club and that was an adventure in itself.  The kids had so much bottled up energy from being in the car that they ran around that place like nobody's business.  I finally convinced them to sit at the patio display while we checked out.   At the arena we met Jessi, Brady and their kids out front and headed in.  Each of the kids took money for the game and when we got to the arena they couldn't wait to spend it.  With our Jr. Jazz tickets we got free hot dogs and drinks so that was our dinner.  After that the kids had cotton candy, popcorn, red vines, and each made sure to spend every dime their parents sent them with.  Everyone left the game with a souvenir and possibly a belly ache (actually I know Gavin had one, he ate so much and ended up getting sick the next morning).  Porter, Connor, Gavin, Chet, and Logan sat a few rows down from us and danced their little hearts out.  Jordan and Kadee were pretty calm and sat with us the whole time.  It was such a fun game and I loved taking all the kids with us.

Jessi and I in our matching shirts (not planned)

Jessi and Brady

The boys

Jordan and Kadee BFF's


So... last night was Kadee's last night of gymnastics before summer break.  I decided to go and watch and record her and take some pictures since we didn't do any meets this year.  She did a really good job, but I think she was kind of being silly at times. :)  Kinlee went with me and she LOVED it.  It's all she could talk about and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have 2 gymnasts when we start back in the fall.  This year she did all around, which meant she got to do the beams, uneven bars, tumbling, trampoline, and more.  She has really come a long way and can almost do the splits (she probably has my flexibility  I danced for years and never could do the splits all the way down).  So glad she finally found something she loves and I really hope she sticks with it and continues to improve.  We have been blessed with so many talents in this life, the trick is finding what we are good at and sticking with it.    

     

We Want a Pitcher.....

My little stud Connor tried out for the minors in baseball this year and made it.  He gets to play up, which means most the kids he plays with are 1 or 2 years older than him.  He has worked super hard and has really held his own.  This last game he had the opportunity to be the opening pitcher.  He loved it and did really really well.  Everyone commented on what great form he has and he is so excited to start pitching.  I can't believe how much that kid loves sports.  He lives, eats, and breathes them.  I hope that he will continue to work hard and excel like he has. 

Ready for his first game

First pitch of the game

Up to bat!

Our first 5k!

 I signed the kids and I up for our first 5k and asked Nicole and her family to join us.  Not all of her family could make it, but Logan, MyKella, and Landon joined us so there were 9 kids and Nicole and I.  It was along the Price River Trail and was actually a ton of fun.  Logan, Connor, and Devin started near the front of the line so they could run and the rest of us stayed near the back with the rest of the walkers/strollers/kids.  The kids were such troopers and didn't complain at all, even though we could tell at the end of the race they were getting tired and hungry.   

 We all got our own numbers, t-shirts, and drawstring bags full of goodies for participating.  I'm pretty sure that was the best part of the race for the kids!  Matty and Kinlee enjoyed their stroller ride, but were exhausted and starving by the time we were through.  They both scarfed down the sandwiches and drinks at the end of the race and completely zonked out in the car on the way home.  I love, love, loved it and can't wait to do it again!

Happy Easter!

Coloring Eggs

Rory had to work all weekend (Boo!) so we were stuck home for the long Easter Break.  We still managed to have a little bit of fun though!  Connor got to go with Grandpa Derk, Derek, Zac, Logan, and Devin to a Mariners/Rockies Exhibition game at the Bee's stadium.  He had a blast and said it was one of the best days of his life!  He and Zac enjoyed watching the game, but Derek said Devin and Logan were more interested in the hot dog line, lol.  While he was on his way to the game and Rory was sleeping, Debbie, Kadee, Kinlee, Matthew, and I went to the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Wellington Park.  The kids loved it and each one of them got a prize this year.  Later in the day (when Rory woke up) we colored eggs and when Connor got home we had an egg hunt in our basement.

Sunday morning the kids looked through their Easter baskets and then we went to church.  I'm not going to lie, church by myself with 4 kids is super hard.  Matthew tries to go one way and Kinlee tries to go the other.    I had to teach in Young Women's so I taught about the resurrection, which was a good reminder for me why we celebrate Easter.  I am so grateful for the atonement and the peace it brings to our lives.  We then relaxed, had a nice dinner at Derk and Debbie's and finished off the day watching, Rise of the Guardians in 3D with the Andreason family.  It was a great, laid back weekend.

Kadence showing off her egg

Matthew trying to eat his egg with the shell still on

Kinlee showing me her cute egg

Showing off our eggs from the easter egg hunt

Disneyland 2013

We just got back from our amazing Disneyland trip.  We seriously had so much fun!  We headed out last Saturday and stayed the night in Vegas.  From there we headed to California and absolutely loved our hotel.  We stayed in a suite at the Castle Inn and Suites with Derk and Debbie.  It was really clean and was on the same block as the entrance to Disneyland so it made it super nice for walking back and forth.  We spent 2 days at Disneyland, a day at Huntington beach, and then went to California Adventure Land for our last day in the park.  Derk and Debbie were such troopers because we walked our fanny's off!  We tried to take in lots of shows and absolutely loved the World of Color Water show, it was amazing and we were all in awe.  Some of our other favorite shows were Aladdin, the Mad T Party, and A Bug's Life.  For the parade in Disneyland we got front row seats and Mickey even came and took a seat right next to Matthew.  We didn't get as good of seats for the fireworks show, but still got to enjoy it.  We celebrated Rory's 31st birthday while we were there.  Lucky for him I bought him a present and a yummy Cold Stone ice cream cake before we left.

Huntington Beach was cold but we had so much fun.  Derk and Rory went body surfing in the water and I don't know how they didn't turn into popsicles, that water was icy cold.  The rest of us stayed on the beach and built a sand castle and played in the sand.  It was cold so we didn't spend much time on the beach.  After playing for awhile we walked the pier and had lunch at Ruby's Diner.  It is so yummy and was so beautiful looking out over the ocean and the beach.  The kids each got a shark tooth necklace and loved watching the people fish and surf.  After the beach we went back to the hotel and the kids went swimming which was actually one of their favorite parts of the whole trip.  Give my kids a swimming pool and Rory a hot tub and life is good.

Our final day we spent in California Adventure Land.  We got to ride the brand new Cars ride and eat at Flo's Diner (from the movie Cars).  The food at Flo's was expensive, but delicious.  Kinlee got a front row seat to a Minnie Mouse flight show then afterword she got to meet Minnie, give her a hug, and kiss her on the nose.  We ran into Rory's nephew Taylor who was there on a choir trip and topped it off with the World of Color show I mentioned earlier.  When it was over, Connor and Kadee cried because they were so sad our trip was coming to an end.  I asked them what their favorite rides were, Connor loved Indiana Jones and Kadee loved the Tower of Terror.  Kinlee just loved Minnie Mouse and I think Matthew liked when we let him off his leash. :)We concluded the trip with another stay in Vegas and 70 degree weather.  The pool at our hotel was closed for maintenance so we ordered pizza, sat in the courtyard, and enjoyed the wonderful weather.  The kids were champs on the way home.  Everyone did fabulous and hardly complained.  Now to catch up on homework and get back to baseball, gymnastics, piano, scouts, and all the craziness of life.