Curiosity :)

Yesterday I took the girls to Winco for a quick grocery shopping trip.  Sage was riding in the cart seat and we passed by a rather unkempt older gentleman with a very full and long grayish-white beard.  Sage immediately turned to me and said (not very quietly), "Mom, is that Jesus?"  I quickly assured her that it was definitely NOT Jesus so then she wanted to know who he was.  I told her he was someone we didn't know and that he was a stranger.  (Both girls somehow think that we should know everyone, including people in magazine pictures, etc!)  Sage then asked (about the same gentleman), "Mom, where's his mouth?"  I had to laugh as I explained that it was there, just hidden by the beard.  Of course she followed with the ever-constant "Why?"  to which I answered that that's just what happens when you have a large beard - your mouth kind of gets hidden.  That was followed by another "Why?"  At that point I was ready to change her focus and resorted to the common answer of "it just does".  Oh how I love the curiosity of a two-year old!    

Family Fun Time

This weekend we were able to spend some fantastic time together as a family!  It's something that all of us look forward to with eagerness, even Makenna and Sage.  They have a little "family day" song/cheer that they do in celebration - I love their enthusiasm!  Friday night after we all got home (Nate had a late day at work & I picked up a full shift so the girls had a full day of preschool), we ate dinner & then set up our smaller tent in the living room!  Nate set up our portable DVD player in there & we had a family popcorn/movie night with Aladdin.  It was a blast!  On Saturday, we made a yummy breakfast & then took the girls to see the Chipmunk's movie in the dollar theater.  It was a super cute show and we all really liked it.  Afterward we had a fun night planned with some friends & finished off the great day with good food, games & great company.  Sunday was pretty relaxing and we enjoyed every minute we had all together.  We also got to do a long Skype call with Nate's parents which we always love.  It was a great few days...partly evidenced by the fact that the tent didn't come down until after the girls went to sleep tonight.  :)  Oh how I love the weekend!

The family at the movies!

 Sage was so pooped that she fell asleep in the tent :)

Reading bedtime stories in the tent

 Kenna took this picture - pretty impressive I think!

More Good News!

This week has been super busy.  Between work, recipe group, Primary presidency meeting, housework, an overflowing plate for Nate and the overall exhaustion of carrying around a bowling ball in my stomach, I feel like I'm about ready to crash.  Add on the emotional roller coaster of future unknowns and I'd say I've about reached my max.  Poor Nate is overworked & overburdened with school and home duties...along with dealing with the previously mentioned tired and emotional wife!  Life is interesting right now.  However, we've got lots of good things going on too & our little family has been blessed.  One of those good things is the healthy little boy growing in my bowling-ball belly!  At my last OB appointment, my doctor said I was anemic and measuring small (I know, hard to believe!), so she scheduled me for an ultrasound with my next appointment - which was today.  I was happy to get the extra chance to see our cute little guy (and yes, he was confirmed a boy!).  He measured right on for size - a day off my due date - and looked as healthy as could be.  It was great news!  Nate had to miss the appointment because he was interviewing with the firm he's been working for for the past 9 months.  Now we'll cross our fingers for more good news to come our way. :)  Wish us luck!

A quick glance at little boy Wolfley

(He's got his foot right next to his face - definitely a flexible little guy!)

Good news!

Makenna had her "spacer evaluation" today where the dentist determined if her teeth had moved enough in the past month with the retainer.  If not, he would have to take it out, enlarge it and cement it back in place.  I tried to prepare Kenna for both outcomes, but luckily IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH!!  Wohoo!  I was really dreading watching her go through that experience again, not only the misery at the appointment, but the soreness & pain with eating that lasted for days afterward.  I'm SO relieved for Kenna's sake that she doesn't have to go through that again!  She was a trooper jumping into the dentist chair without hesitation knowing full well what might be coming.  Of course, Sage wanted in on the fun too (especially since they played Tangled on the ceiling above her!).  Kenna scooted over & Sage hopped right in until the dentist came.  It was pretty cute. 

Evans Family Pictures

While we were vacationing in Utah over Christmas break, my family got together for some Evans family pictures!  It had literally been since mine & Nate's wedding that we had ALL been together for pictures (we've only added 9 grandkids since then!).  It's challenging getting all of us together in one place at the same time since we have gotten so big & 2 of us live out of state.  However, New Year's Eve day turned out to be the perfect opportunity and we took it!  Just a few weeks ago we got the finished product and it's been really fun looking through the pictures of everyone.  Of course when you have 10 little kids, no picture turns out perfect (in my opinion, you're lucky if you get one!), but they have character and that's the most fun to look back at.  Anyway, here are a few of my favorites! 

Our Family

 

 The Evans Family - Nick, Kirsten, Andrew, Benjamin & Sarajane

 The Pitt Family - Ammon, Natalie, Noah & Elizabeth

 The Stout Family - Adam, Allison, Sydney, Lauren & Katelyn

 The Whole Evans Crew!

 My parents with all 10 grandkids
(plus 2 more on the way!)

 The Adults

Ammon, Natalie (sister), Nick (brother), Kirsten, Isaac (brother), Dad, Mom, Zach (brother), Me, Nate, Allison (sister), Adam

 The kids in order of age

Andrew (7), Noah (4), Sydney (4), Ben (4), Kenna (3), Lauren (3), Sage (2), Elizabeth (2), Sarajane (2) & Kate (6m)

Just a little LOVE

There’s nothing better than a holiday for an excuse to have a wonderful night in with the family!  This Valentine’s was one of those wonderful nights & I loved every minute of it.  Nate came home from school with flowers for all 3 of his Valentine’s!  The girls were so thrilled to have their very own flowers; you would have thought he had brought them home a new puppy!  Their enthusiasm then switched focus to the surprise they had for their dad.  They couldn’t wait to drag him upstairs, one girl pulling each of his hands, to show him the special Valentine we had made for him during the day.  I love the excitement of 2 & 3 year-olds!!  Nate also bought me an awesome body pillow, which I can’t wait to use!  (The growing belly is starting to get a bit uncomfortable at night.)  He is always so thoughtful! 

Afterward we had a gourmet dinner with steak & shrimp fondue, asparagus, rolls and a delicious spinach & artichoke dip that Nate made.  I think I ate way too much!  Later, after we got the girls in bed, Nate and I enjoyed a delicious chocolate fondue with sparkling cider and some much needed couple time.  What a great 8^th Valentine’s Day together!  (Of course, how can you go wrong with a day just to celebrate the ones we love?)  Earlier, I had tried to explain to the girls what the day was about so I kept telling them that Valentine’s was a special day to celebrate all the people that we love.  However when I asked them at dinner time to tell their dad what we were celebrating that day, Sage exclaimed, “Treats!”  I guess the focus is a little bit different when you’re a kid. :)  Either way, it was a great day!  Happy Valentine’s!

At our Valentine's Party/Playdate with ward friends

 As we were leaving it was pouring rain & we got SOAKED!  This is us trying to take our own picture showing off our wetness. :)

Playing Catch-up

The past few weeks have been a busy blur, and I can’t say I’m sorry to see them gone.  Is it bad to say I’m really looking forward to Nate’s graduation in a few months?  These past few years of law school have given us lots of fun times, but I’m ready for a new stage of busyness!  We thought this last semester would be pretty laid back and we could just ride out the last few classes and be good to go…unfortunately that’s not been the case.  Nate is running the client counseling competition for the Moot Court board and has had to attend a couple of practices a week in preparation.  On those nights he doesn’t get home till nearly 9:30 so he’s gone before the girls wake up & not home till after they’re asleep.  He also is participating in a domestic violence clinic where he essentially acts as an attorney (under the direction of an attorney) for real clients with real cases through Legal Aid.  I think it will be really good experience for him, but it takes A LOT of work on his own time.  Kind of frustrating for a pass/fail class.  On top of that, he’s been working on BAR applications which are ridiculously intensive and want every detail from every aspect of your life.  Add on regular classes, a job and trying to network for the job-hunt and you’ve got one very overworked and overburdened Nate!  He’s been great to also make time for the girls and I (when he has it!), but sometimes I feel guilty taking that precious time…even though it is my lifeline!  Being pregnant while caring for two little girls and a seemingly never-ending to-do list makes me appreciate, and cling to, every minute I have with my wonderful husband.  Yep…definitely ready for law school to be over! 

On another note, we have had some great times over the past few weeks.  Nate and I were able to go to the Portland Temple together which was fantastic.  It’s a 4-hour round-trip drive, which gave us lots of time to talk and talk!   And of course being in the temple is always a wonderful experience, especially one as beautiful as Portland.  We’ve also been able to celebrate several close friends’ birthdays, including a surprise birthday for our great friend Zac Harris in which Nate had to act as the diversion for the surprise!  Nate & Zac are both on a basketball team that had a game the night of the party.  Nate called Zac & offered him a ride and then “got stuck in traffic” on his way to pick him up.  They also had to make a “quick detour” to the church to get another teammates’ basketball shoes from his wife who was “having a playdate with the other wives” there.  Zac was pretty ticked with Nate for making them late for their game – that is until he got into the church & realized they weren’t going to be making the game at all!  Happy 30^th birthday Zac! 

The girls have been as busy, naughty and fun as ever the past few weeks!  We discovered how squishy our bed is after one night when Kenna had a bad dream & ended up in our bed (a very rare occasion!).  Now that they share a room, Sage woke up unhappy to find herself alone & joined the party in our bed.  Nate & I were too tired to take them back to their room so we spent a very restless night with two adults, two kids and one pregnant belly in a queen bed.  Not the best equation for a good night’s sleep!  The girls have also been in a “Diego” phase.  They love to watch the cartoon, but love even more to play that they are Diego & Alicia rescuing all the animals in our house.  It is so cute to hear them play, and literally that game keeps them busy for hours (in fact that is what they are doing right now!). :)  Beside the fact that every animal from their biggest stuffed animals to their tiniest rubber frogs get pulled out to be rescued, it is an awesome activity.  I am amazed at how focused they get and never fail to call each other by their make-believe names.  It just makes me laugh when for the rest of the night they insist that I call them Alicia or Diego (doesn’t phase them one bit that Diego is a boy)!  What goofy kids!

They are also very in to ANY type of make-believe that they can come up with.  Everything from the ducks in the tub to their carrot sticks at lunch become members of some sort of family.  I’ll hear the girls calling “Mom, I NEED you!” only to run up & find out that Sage’s Barbie was needing to be rescued by her mother, Makenna’s Barbie.  I am also constantly entertained by the dialogue that ensues at mealtimes between Kenna’s character cup and Sage’s (Belle talking Ariel into taking a bite of dinner, or Mickey informing Pluto that he does not like mushrooms, unlike Sage who “loves” them…along with every other food she puts in her mouth!). It is quite amusing! 

Anyway, overall I am so very grateful for my imaginative little girls and hard-working husband.  I always know that no matter what, those 3 will be there to cheer me up when I’m feeling stressed.  I love my family!

Playing "Diego & Alicia"

Kenna practicing taking pictures with our camera - I think she's getting pretty good at it!

Kenna got to bring home "Clive" from preschool. She was so excited about it! (and she really wanted to take a picture feeding him an apple) (??)

Nate and I in the beautiful Portland Temple