Happy Easter!

Well, the video camera got most of the Easter action this year! We had a fabulous Easter and definitely were not missed by the Easter bunny. :) The girls had a great time on their Easter egg hunt and basket search after church. Then we attempted to take pictures, but with their naturally difficult picture taking ages compounded by way too much sugar - it was tough to even get these!! We hope everyone else had a great day & most of all want to say how thankful we are for the sacrifice our Savior made for us. How blessed we are!

Kids say the darndest things!

Today was a beautiful day! As I sit here listening to the rain pouring down outside, it's crazy to think that just a few hours ago it was sunny, 65 degrees, and we were happily hiking Spencer's Butte. Oregon weather is just as crazy as Utah weather! It felt really great to get out and go hiking again. We all had a fantastic time - the girls especially enjoyed their rock-climbing and dog-watching at the top! Both girls had us laughing pretty hard on that hike. I think we've officially hit the stage with Kenna where she just blurts out whatever she's thinking, no matter how much it will embarrass her parents. On our way up the mountain, a guy jogged passed us without a shirt on and Kenna immediately yelled "That guy's naked! Look Dad, that guy's NAKED!" As we quickly tried to quiet her, we heard the guy laughing. At least he thought it was funny! We explained to her that he wasn't naked, he just didn't have a shirt on because he was hot. Not much further up the trail, we passed another topless man. Kenna exclaimed, "Look that guy's not wearing a shirt either! He must have been hot!" Of course she doesn't say it in a normal-person volume, rather yelling it to everyone on that side of the mountain. Maybe that'll make hikers think twice about removing their shirts next time...they might get called out by a 3 year-old. :) Then when we got to the top, Kenna said she had to go to the bathroom. Nate took her off to go "camping potty" while I stayed with Sage. A while later, a few boys headed down the same way Nate had taken Kenna to go to the bathroom. Sage stood up, pointed to them and yelled, "Potty! Potty!" They turned and looked at her, like "excuse me?". Another one of those times you quickly shove a snack in their mouths or point out the nearest possible animal...or rock....or anything to change their attention. It's so fun having little kids!

The fam at the top

The girls loved climbing around all over the rocks at the top. Kenna called this spot her "home" and she said she was going to stay there for a couple days. She pretended to make food and wasn't about to leave...until Nate told her he saw a spider. :)

Sage loved throwing rocks (notice this was taken after she spilled about half an orange Gatorade bottle down her shirt!)

Other fun happenings around the Wolfley home...Kenna got a tea party set from my mom for her birthday, which she loves! Since then we've had many tea parties - even the dolls get invited!
Yesterday we put on an Easter party for our ward's Mom & Tot group! The kids made super cute Easter crafts, played a game, made cupcakes and had an Easter egg hunt. It turned out really fun and I think the kids had a blast.

This is Kenna's Easter bunny puppet, which she made mostly by herself!

Sage had a little help with hers! :)

Searching for eggs. She had a great time despite the fact she helped me hide the eggs. I love the shortness of 3 year-old memories!

Kenna hard at work on her cupcake decorating!

Sage showing off her Easter bunny cupcake. The kids also made a "dirt patch" cupcake with a carrot for their bunny. Both ideas were so cute!

Our Big Girl Turns 3!

Yesterday was Makenna's 3rd birthday! It was a fantastic day - mostly because Kenna was so giddy all day that it was finally her birthday. She woke up with a grin and went to bed with a grin (probably a little sugar-induced, but a grin nonetheless!). It was my favorite 'kid's' birthday so far because Kenna is at the age where she understands why we are celebrating and was SO excited for each part of the day. She woke up dancing around saying "we're having strawberry waffles cuz it's my birthday!". Then "we're going to a birthday party playdate to get cupcakes cuz it's my birthday!". Then "Daddy's coming home and we're gonna have cake and open presents cuz it's my birthday!". And on and on. :) How can the day go wrong with that kind of enthusiasm? She also came up with the logic that she can do all the big girl things now that she's three. I, for one, took advantage of that one with things like "now that you're 3 you can't fight anymore because 3 year-olds don't fight". We'll see how long that one lasts!

Overall it was a wonderful day and we were so happy to be celebrating Makenna. She is a fantastic little girl. Nothing can make me smile more than the funny things she says or the way she sings or the way she takes care of her sister. I am so proud of her and can't imagine our home without her. I love my little Makenna! Now, in honor of our birthday girl (and because they make me smile!), here are a few of her recent sayings:

Sage was throwing a tantrum and Kenna rolled her eyes and said "Sage, save your batteries!" (from Woody on Toy Story)

Kenna also decided that the word "Yum" is a verb. She has been using it frequently, as in "Mom, I yummed my dinner all gone." Or, "Daddy, don't yum my strawberry!"

At dinner Nate said, "Kenna, you are so smart and beautiful and such a big girl and we are so proud of you." She replied, "You too, Daddy....especially beautiful!" When Nate tried to correct her and say "no boys are handsome", she just laughed and said, "I was just teasing Daddy!"

Kenna was mad one night that it was cloudy so she couldn't see the moon. We were driving and she started mumbling in the backseat "When I grow bigger I'm going to take all the clouds and put them in time-out forever!" That girl's got a lot of growing to do! (Although I bet most Eugenians would be thankful!)

She is also becoming a little adult, saying things like "that's what happens" (always in a very motherly tone), "otherwise", "as a matter of fact", "actually" and "totally" (always sounding like a teenage girl - where'd she get that?!)

My favorite "sweet" thing she's started doing lately is singing to Sage. Frequently when we're driving in the car she'll ask Sage if she wants to sing with her. Sage always enthusiastically says "Uh-huh!". Kenna then goes through a list of songs until she figures out what Sage wants. The two of them sing, with Kenna occasionally making up words and Sage doing actions and throwing in a word here or there (she's already following in her sister's footsteps). We tell stories or sing together almost every time we're in the car - I don't even remember the last time they let me listen to the radio - but nothing melts my heart like hearing my girls sing together. Oh how I love those two!

Happy to have her favorite waffles with strawberries!

How we spent the next few hours: reading & playing dress-ups

Arguably my new favorite picture of Makenna - you can just see the pride & excitement in that face! Love it!

Sage was a pretty happy camper, too!

Since her bike riding experience on our Utah vacation, Kenna has been so excited to get her own bike. We were planning on finding a second-hand one for her this summer, but she had other plans. Anytime we asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday, she'd say "ride my new bike". Well the day before her birthday she brought it up again..."for my birthday I'm going to get a bike!" (We hadn't gotten one for her yet.) I called Nate and told him we might need to rethink the whole bike thing or Kenna might be a little disappointed. He said "Well then, let's go get one!" So that night when he got home, we went to the store & picked one out. While Nate sneakily bought it, I took the girls to pick out some party stuff (like the "Tangled" paper plates she was so excited for!). On her birthday, after she had opened all her other presents, we said "Was there anything else you wanted for your birthday?" She immediately replied, "My bike!" We had one more bag for her to open and she looked a little confused as to how we fit a bike in it. When she pulled out her new helmet she basically said "but I need a bike with this". She ran to the garage door and opened it and there was her new pink bike. It was so fun to see her excitement and watch her try it out. She was a natural and Nate already can't wait to take her on bike rides this summer!

What a cutie!

For her birthday she wanted a "Huge, Giant Cupcake"...So that's what she got!

Makenna's 3 Year's Old Today

Forgive me everyone for writing this entry; Brooke usually does it and it looks fantastic. But my oldest and biggest girl is 3 today and we're so excited. Someday, when this blog is turned into a family scrapbook, I want my little girl Makenna to know that I love her so much! I'm so proud of what a smart, kind, energetic, happy, and beautiful girl she is. I know she's going to be a great person and I'm proud to be her "daddy." Have a wonderful day Makenna. I'm sure Mom will post a bunch of pictures from our festivities today later.

Love,

Dad

Adventure in flight...

Our flight home from Utah Tuesday was a bit out of the ordinary (to say the least!). It started out pretty non-eventful other than a dead DVD player battery, which made us resort to plan B: coloring. The girls and I were happily doodling when the flight attendant came over the intercom asking that any physicians on board please come forward. No movement. About 30 seconds later she got back on asking that any nurses on board please come forward. Again no movement. So here’s my dilemma, there appears to be no medically trained passengers on the flight (amazing considering it is a full flight on a large plane), and I am an RN but am alone on the flight with a 1 & 2 year-old. I turned to the gal sitting next to me and hesitantly said “I am a nurse, do you think I should go up?” She sweetly offered to watch the girls so I slowly stood and headed to the front of the plane. There I was met by two nervous stewardesses and a woman who was hyperventilating and stating that she couldn’t breathe. I knelt next to her and started going through some basic questions, “Do you have any pain in your chest?”, “Do you have any medical problems?” etc. She told me she had had panic attacks in the past and had taken some medication before the flight…then she went totally unconscious. I probably could have cried. My mind was racing with nightmares of having to get this lady in the aisle and do CPR by myself until we could land somewhere. Luckily she still had a pulse and was breathing so we got oxygen on her and slowly she came to. One stewardess got a physician on the phone who wanted to know her blood pressure, heart rate, ect. They handed me a manual BP cuff and stethoscope and I quickly discovered how awful it is to hear anything through a stethoscope while on a plane. After it was presumed that she was most likely having a panic attack, my blood pressure went back to normal, although the fun was far from over. This poor, sweet woman was very seriously under the impression that she was going to die on that flight. So vivid was this belief that she spent the next hour going in and out of consciousness with severe panic whenever she was awake. I spent that hour kneeling next to her, talking to her, occasionally checking her vital signs and holding oxygen to her face with one hand while she gripped my other hand.

At the beginning of the ordeal, another gal sitting across the aisle from the distressed one volunteered to go help out with Makenna and Sage. I had about enough time to tell her their names and ages and she was gone. One stewardess frequently checked on the girls and always reported that they were happy and doing well. How grateful I was for easy-going kids! At one point one of the stewardesses thought it might help to sing to the woman. She sang a few songs in a beautiful voice and the woman began to calm down. Then she asked if she had any favorite songs or any requests. Through the oxygen mask the lady said, “I am a Child of God”. It quickly became apparent that neither of the attendants or the gal sitting next to her were LDS. So timidly, I began to sing. She stared intensely into my eyes as I sang and I almost got teary eyed. Here I was on a flight home, kneeling next to a perfect stranger, holding her hand and singing to her while two other strangers watched over my little girls. I never thought nursing school would get me there! To end the story, an ambulance met us at the gate so we sat for about 10 minutes waiting for paramedics to come on board before we could deplane. When they did come, the woman woke up to two men standing over her and she was terrified. I tried to assure her that they were there to help her, but it took me holding her shaking hand and helping her into the wheelchair before they could get her off. After she was gone, I went back to my seat where Sage was asleep in one of the girls’ arms and Makenna was as happy as ever. I regret not being able to thank those women more. Looking back, it was pretty amazing of them to volunteer to watch two little girls they’d never met for an hour so that I could help someone else out. I’m so grateful for them!

After the flight, Nate was there to pick us up and it was so good to see him! I was pretty mentally and physically exhausted and ended up sleeping most of the way home – and he was sweet to let me. I even woke up the next morning with most of the muscles in my upper body sore. I think I was pretty tense through that whole ordeal. Overall I feel blessed to have an education that allows me to help other people, and I’m thankful that others are willing to help me. But what an adventure!!

Random Vacation Goodness!

We had so much fun on our trip to Utah that there's almost too much to write down - I think it's best chronicled by the pictures. Here are some random snapshots of the adventures we had! Boy are we spoiled!

Lucky the Leprechaun visited us at Grandma's house & left scavenger hunt clues to a special treat! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Having a blast at Boondocks!

The girls were showing off their moves on "Dance Dance Revolution"

At the airport

Our second trip to the Treehouse Museum - I don't think we could ever get bored of that place!

My sister Natalie and I overlapped trips to Utah by one afternoon so we had to do something super fun! My mom took all 9 grandchildren & moms to Kangaroo Zoo followed by a cousin pizza party at their house. What a fantastic way to end our vacation!

Ben, Kenna & Noah speeding down the slide together!

St. George

For the second week of our vacation (Nate’s Spring Break) we went searching for the sun in St. George! Nate’s parents have a house there and we spent the week hiking, biking, swimming and getting spoiled rotten. We went on a lot of fun outings but I think the girls enjoyed running around in the backyard just as much. Nate & I were even able to go out on a date night, which was heavenly. We had so much fun that week that I didn’t even have time to take many pictures – we were too busy enjoying the trip and having Nate all to ourselves! Thanks Wolfley’s for the fantastic vacation, we had a ball!

Sage asleep on the drive there (she had a spill on the sidewalk before the trip so all following pictures have Sage sporting a poor red nose!)

The girls had a ball riding bikes with Grandpa Richard!

At the park

Grandma & Grandpa being silly!

White Rocks Trail hike in Snow Canyon

One of our trips to the swimming pool - we love it!