Spring time!

I know it has been awhile since my last post....so enjoy!

These last few months have been pretty busy in a good way.

I went back to work full time and finally settled into our new "normal" life style of 4 kids. Thanks to my Mom who helps so much with the kids and keeps the house under control. Since I work late she also fixes healthy dinners for us! Retirement for her has not been too relaxing but I think she enjoys being with the kids.

Jett is sleeping through the night, usually. He is rolling over and grabbing toys! He loves to smile and giggle at his sisters. He is the happiest in the morning and when he is in his bath tub.

Jett, Mack and Delaney were baptized in April at our church. (Elli was baptized when she was a baby). It was a lovely ceremony.
We spent Easter at home with egg hunts and soccer games.




Our annual Spring Dance Recital was Mother's Day Weekend. This is year long project for me so when the day finally arrived I was so relieved. Planning this recital while pregnant and on maternity leave was challenging. But, the show goes on and everything went great!

Laney and Elli each performed 2 routines, ballet and tap. They did a great job and I was so proud of them! Here are a few pictures of Elli. I have no picture of Laney at this point but hoping to get a few from other parents of my dancers. :(

It's a full house!

Well Jett is 5 weeks old and is doing great...besides not sleeping well at night. All the kids are adjusting well and I am very anxious about returning to work next Wednesday. I am so grateful to have my parents close by to jump in and help with all the kids. Here are a few pictures of Jett and the kids.

March has been a crazy month for our family! With Bill's work burning down, the new baby and Laney's broken arm I am looking forward to warmer weather and getting back to a routine.

Welcome Jett Thomas!

On February 8th at 3:19am Jett Thomas joined our family! We was 6lbs 14oz and 20.5in long.

After working a 10 hour day at the gym I knew that I was not feeling so well and contractions we happening off and on all day. Once I got home that night I was worried that tonight might be the night and I still had to finish making the video of the dance routines for the instructors who were taking over for me. (Nothing like waiting till the last minute!)
Through the contractions Mack video taped me performing the dances so I could hustle and make the video to give to my replacements. All the jumping and dancing definitely brought on contractions and I still was not sure if I should be alarmed. At 12:30am it was "go time".
After a mad dash to the hospital I was 5cm dilated and quickly after the epidural, Jett arrived at 3:19am with no complications.

Luckily the girls were already with my parents and Mack chose to stay in bed and continue sleeping. (He had been through this 2 other times so he was more worried about his beauty sleep.)
Since Jett was born so early in the morning we did not call anyone until after 7am that morning.
That was a long wait for me! I could not wait to share the exciting news that Jett was finally here!

Later on that day my family came to visit with the kids. They all held him and Jett survived his first encounter with his siblings. I figured that he has heard them the whole time so he probably felt comfortable with the increased noise level and being bounced around.




The next day a few of my co-workers/friends came to visit as well as Bill's parents and my parents too! Even though I was exhausted it was wonderful to feel the love of my family and close friends as they held Jett and spent time with me.

Laney turns 5!

On January Laney turned 5 years old! She celebrated her birthday by hosting a Princess and Pirate Party at the gym. Many of her classmates attend as well as family members. It was a great time and the kids got to come in costume, go on a scavenger hunt for golden coins, walk the plank (balance beams) and jump on trampolines! Princess Stefanie joined the celebration to fix up the girls with hair and makeup!









The whole gang with Pirate Justin!




















Laney has grown into a sweet and bright little girl. She is very helpful and loves to do her school work. I love to hear her stories as well as answer her silly questions she often asks.
She may look like a princess in these pictures but she also enjoys wrestling with her brother and fishing with her Daddy.
She is the complete package and I am so thankful to have her in my life! I am excited for her future and wonder what this next year will be like for my little princess, Delaney!

Christmas at Disney World!

Christmas at Disney World!

Well, the time had finally arrived! It was time to take the kids to Disney World! We had been planning this trip for over a year. I was just happy that it was not too close to my due date!

We arrived in Orlando on Christmas Eve day and awoke on Christmas morning to a few small gifts from Santa then we headed off to Magic Kingdom for the day! We had to get there early to ensure that we made it into the park before they reached there capacity. We had heard that this would be the busiest day of the year for Disney World. They were not lying! It was packed but the weather was nice and we were full of energy!

The girls we so excited as we drove up to the big entrance. They were in awe of the crowds and the tram to get to Magic Kingdom. They could not talk fast enough as they pointed out everything they saw.

Despite the large crowds we got to see many wonderful shows, parades and go on many rides! Of coarse, I stuck to the smaller rides and Bill took Mack on the big rides. Mack also got to hang out with my boss, Kendra's son for a day. They took him Universal Studios for the day so he could experience all the big kid ride and attractions. This gave a Bill an entire day to spend with the girls and myself. We all stood in line for about 2 hours to let the girls have a special meeting time with Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. (They just saw the movie so they were excited for this, I was just as excited too!) The girls got to color a picture and then dance with Rapunzel in a secluded area before each kid got to go up on stage and meet her for a photo opportunity. Laney and Elli were the last kids of the day to meet Rapunzel so it was very special for them.

My parents were troopers and did a great job keeping up and helping with meltdowns when they occurred.

The girls got so see many Disney characters. It was precious to see Elli meet her favorite princess, Snow White on our last day at Disney.

The Rainforest Cafe was a hit as well as the Tea Cups.














So many wonderful memories were created! We are so blessed to be able to spend these moments with our family and give our kids memories they will have forever!

Christmas Time!

Favorite Christmas Picture of the Kids!







We celebrated Christmas with my parents, Bill's parents, Matt and Jodi a bit early this year. We had a huge feast of ham (prepared by my wonderful Mother) and all the traditional side dishes, drinks and of coarse a huge spread of deserts!

Santa even made an appearance to hand out gifts!



My Grandmother Davis sent the kids a recordable book of the "Night Before Christmas". She recorded herself reading the book. Laney started listening right away. I actually got emotional when hearing her voice. This is the first Christmas that I did not get to see her. This was a great gift and the girls love listening to her tell the story as they turn the pages. This book will definitely be a holiday treasure to have forever!


Laney received a fun dress up outfit so she spent the entire evening in this purple dress!

It was wonderful to spend time with the family and watch the kids open up their gifts.

Since we celebrated early I had a sense of relief the week of Christmas. I had to keep reminding myself that Christmas had not actually happened. I would go to stores and be thankful that I was not one of those people stressing out about getting everything done before Christmas came. I could concentrate on spending time with the kids and getting prepared for Disney!