Firsts

We've had a bunch of "firsts" at our house this month. Here's two of the most memorable.

Tienna's first day of kindergarten.

She was SO excited!! We got to meet her teacher, Mrs. Thurman, the day before, check out her classroom, and meet some of the other kids in her class which only made her more excited. Tienna didn't even look back when I was trying to wave bye after dropping her off. I think it hit Kiara the hardest; she was not very happy to leave sister at school without staying too. Once we got home she just kept missing her up until it was time to pick her up. I love how these girls love each other!

Kiara's first night sleeping in her big girl bed.

Kiara has been wanting to sleep in her bunk bed for a couple of months now but she wouldn't actually stay in her bed opting to cause all kinds of mischief instead. For some reason once we came back from Utah she was ready and actually listens when we tell her to stay in her bed. She is growing up way too fast!!

{5}

Tienna's 5th birthday was a couple of days after we got to Utah. All she wanted for her birthday was to have her cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents sing happy birthday to her and to get her ears pierced. We were successful on both accounts!

Before we headed up to Utah we did a couple of gifts at home

For her party we had a mini treasure hunt. It was a very warm day but the kiddos still had fun running around following the clues. Tienna was super excited to have a pirate cake and while my original plan didn't quite pull through Josh saved the day : )

T, K and the Vandersteen cousins

Pirate uncle McKay

Cutting into her pirate cake

Can you tell everyone was excited for cake and ice cream?

Kiara definitely got in on the action too!

Now that we have a 5 year old in the house here's a glimpse of Tienna right now:

~ She is still VERY tall for her age (not quite 46"), only a little more to go and she will be tall enough for Indiana Jones with daddy at Disneyland!

~ She loves playing with legos during quiet time so Kiara doesn't break up her creations.

~ She is a very sweet, sensitive girl. She has such a tender heart!

~ She loves swimming and going boating.

~ She is always willing to watch cartoons, especially with daddy and sister.

~ She is a girly girl who loves having her hair done and dressing up but is always willing to play trains, legos or  wrestle too.

~ She always writes little notes and leaves them around the house for me, Josh and Kiara.

~ She is a very helpful around the house (for the most part) and is good about doing her chores. Her favorites are putting the silverware away from the dishwasher and cleaning the bathroom mirrors.

~ She has a fantastic imagination and loves making up songs and/or stories.

~ She is looking forward to Kindergarten SOOO much!

Summertime Adventures

In June we headed up to Utah to spend some time with family. Josh stayed up for the first week, came back home to work for a couple of weeks and then made it back in time for the annual week at Pineview. The girls and I were lucky enough to hang out in Utah for just short of an entire month. While we had a blast with family and being back in SLC it was a loooong time to be away from home and Josh.  Here's a little bit of what kept us busy.

The first week we were there Jessie and Steve were also in town from Washington DC. I am so grateful we could see them. I'm still not 100% ok with my sister living on the opposite coast from us but they make such an effort to visit, visit when we're visiting, etc. that it works. We had fun playing games, roasting marshmallows in the canyon and hanging out with them.

Kiara and her favorite, "Unca Steeb"

Exploring the canyon

Roasting marshmallows for s'mores 

I think she liked them!

Kiara preferred her marshmallows uncooked

The second week Jason and Heather were in town with their cute family. For the first time in three years we had a chance to be together for more than a day and just let the kids play. Tienna loved following the older girls around and was quite smitten by baby Cole. Kiara kept doing her own thing but enjoyed being able to play with the cousins for really the first time. We had fun with sparklers, scooter rides, fashion shows, bubbles, jumping on the tramp and so much more.

First morning together, ready to go!

Fashion Show

Tienna LOVED Coleman - holding him, cooing at him, playing with him... I think someone is ready for a baby around the house!

Dinner in the canyons

Getting ready for a scooter ride

Huge Popsicle were the favorite treat

Braving sparklers :)

Walking around the lake and climbing rocks tired Kiara out so much she had to take a nap on grandpa's head.

Going to church. We were lucky enough to see President Monson at church . All of the kids were so excited they got to shake his hand and say hi.

Me and my girls!

Hopefully it won't be another 3 years before we get to spend some time with Jason, Heather and family again. We love you guys!

The third week we were able to be a little more low key and enjoyed a neighborhood firework show for the 4th of July. In both Arizona and California lighting your own fireworks doesn't happen so it was a new experience for the girls. Kiara made friends with the neighbor and would instruct the 14 year old boy which one to light next :) We also were able to spend quite a bit of time with my grandma and grandpa Pollei. The girls were in heaven jumping on their tramp, scouring the garden for raspberries, swinging, following grandpa around the yard and getting a snack whenever they asked. I was able to spend time helping with jam and catching up. My grandparents (both Moffat and Pollei sides) were such a big part of my life growing up, I sincerely miss seeing them on a more regular basis. Hopefully someday if we live in Utah again they will still be around, but until then I'm even more grateful for the chance we have to visit.

Snow cones at Surf'N'Slurp - aren't McKay and Brooke cute!

Our last week we were up at Pineview Reservoir with most of the Vandersteen clan. I honestly think Josh was looking forward to this trip since August of last year! We had lots of fun on the lake including tube rides, wake boarding for Josh, knee boarding for Tienna and enjoying the unusually warm water. When we weren't on the lake we were either napping, eating too much yummy food, playing games or enjoying the beautiful scenery of Ogden Valley. It's so nice to get up to the lake with all of the family sans the distractions of daily life where we can all just hang out and relax together, it is one family tradition we all love and look forward to immensely. I can't find any pictures right now, but hopefully I'll be able to get some soon!

Weekend Getaway

Continuing in the effort to catch up, May and June flew by and then there was an extended trip to Utah in July followed by getting back to reality in time for someone to start kindergarten. (More on that later...) In a nutshell here's May at our house.

May was the first of back-to-back ICU months for Josh. He only has one more stretch like this and we will both be very relieved when it's over. I know I am on the countdown until next summer when the 28 hour call shifts are finished! May did bring a GI conference in San Diego where Josh was able to present a poster from the research he's been working on the past year in his spare time. I'm so proud of him and am continually amazed by his ability to keep going and find time for research in his already severely limited free time.

During the conference in San Diego Josh's parents were kind enough to have the girls come up to Salt Lake for 4 days so Josh and I could enjoy a weekend away. The girls loved seeing grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles. Josh and I loved being able to sleep in and not have to worry about being home by bed time :) Two things we missed: 

Once we got all got home Tienna finished up the year of preschool. We were lucky enough to have a co-op preschool this year with some friends that Tienna really enjoyed. For our end of year party we went to Chuck-E-Cheese.

Conner, Tienna, Malia and Bailey 
(we missed Mason who was home sick)

In May we also found out baby #3 is another girl. We're excited for this new little one; the girls are looking forward to another sister and since we're already in girly mode at our house we figure we may as well keep going. I'm most grateful that this pregnancy has been completely different than either Tienna or Kiara's. Most noticeably I've had the typical sickness early on but by about 18 weeks it went away. Not being sick makes such a difference!! In fact, when we found out it is a girl I almost didn't believe the doctor because my pregnancy has been so different. Either way we're getting ready and can't wait to meet her!

2 and 5

For the girls birthdays we had some pictures taken and I love how they turned out. I'm so glad I've found a great photographer - she's fantastic with the girls and is great at capturing their personalities in all of their spunky 2-year-old and perky 5-year-old glory. These girls make life so much fun!!

Family fun

After Kiara's birthday we had lots of visitors (which we LOVE!). First up, Jessie and Steve came from Washington DC and Brooke and McKay came from Provo. The girls thoroughly enjoyed all of the attention and it was fun getting the chance to catch up. We spent a fun-filled day at Disneyland, ventured to the beach and had some down time too. Here's a few highlights:

The girls were in heaven that Brooke and Jessie were game for the teacups, I think it was 4 times that day alone : ) 

The newlyweds - we're so excited Brooke is officially part of the family. Hard to believe it's been 8 months! 

The whole group 

A few weeks later Kalise and Brian came down with Marisa and their kiddos. They stopped by to hang out for an afternoon and we decided to meet up with Kalise and Brian one last hurrah at Disneyland before our passes expired. Tienna was a big fan of having another kid to run around with and Josh was even able to come along.

Bug's Land 

This was a the common sight of the day... love it! 

Talmage and Kiara completely crashed. Small miracle but not surprising.

Thanks to all of our wonderful family for making such an effort to stop by when they're down this way. We wish we lived closer to family but until then visitors help make the distance easier.