October 1, 2021

Family Reunion part I


 (July 2019)

Link Family Reunion!

 It was so so fun to get together in Massachusetts.  

My sister has the best place to gather!!
Getting everyone together is a lot of work.

Planning all the food is a lot of work.

Coordinating what we are going to do is a lot of work.

 
Pre ordering tickets and collecting everyones money is a lot of work. 

BUT it is worth it.
This week was so fun and so special.
I cant even begin to highlight our favorite things and moments.




 
They have an amazing barn!
It is massive and it caters to everything and everyone.
We ate in the barn, played in the barn and did crafts in the barn. 
 
 My parents brought their umbrella stands and wanted the kids to paint something on it,
and then have everyone sign it.
They turned out so darling!


It's going to be a great week!

September 10, 2021

Allergy Testing for Lane

 June 4, 2019

Lane had to do some blood work done and to our surprise we learned that Lane is technically allergic to EVERYTHING. Our doctor ordered an Epi pen immediately and referred us to an immunologist.


According to his blood work he is highly allergic to milk, then nuts, then eggs, and it lessened to soy, trees, grass...

The boy eats scrambled eggs all the time, eats peanut butter off a spoon daily, he loves cheese... it just didnt make sense. 

He still was drinking formula so we hadn't experienced whole milk yet.  

The immunologist told us to hold off on giving him milk until his doctors appointment. Because Lanes levels were so high for diary they wanted to watch him.

 
The first test they did was the basic panel. They pricked his back with all the most common allergens.
We had to wait about an hour to see if his back had any swelling from any of the allergens.
And sure enough....nothing was swollen. 
He didnt seem to be allergic to any of the things.


Then we moved on to the milk test.
First they rubbed a drop of milk on his lip and we waited for 15 minutes.
Then they rubbed it on his tongue and we waited for 15 minutes.
Then they gave him 1ml of milk to drink and we waited for 15 minutes.
Then they gave him 2ml of milk, then 3ml, 4ml 5ml-having to wait 15 minutes in between each one.
Then he drank a 1 ounce, 2 ounces, 3 ounces.

AND guess what....he was fine!



 Ultimately the doctor said to keep doing what were doing.

Keep feeding him all the foods!!

He doesn't seem to be bothered by any of it.

Our pediatrician told us early on to give eggs and a little peanut butter to our babies at about 6 months.  Apparently they are finding that if you are introduced to it earlier the less likely you'll be allergic to it.

So, is that why he doesn't seem to be reacting to these foods????

We don't know!

We have an Epi pen if we need it, but, so far there haven't been any problems.

September 7, 2021

We love Texas visits

 June 15-21, 2019

 

We LOVE LOVE LOVE our Texas friends and family.
When we go to Texas our kids are in heaven!
It is constant fun, adventure and food.
This round, I took the kids by myself and flew solo.
I was so nervous to do it, but we all survived and people are kind.
If I needed help, there was someone lending a hand.
I appreciate the good that is still out there. 
 
 
Andie and Blake were all about catching frogs (all the kids were actually).
They put on huge boots and carried big buckets around until they found some. 
At one point we couldnt find these two for lunch.
We kept calling for them, we searched high and low.
We went outside and found them-frog hunting!
Little cuties.
  Miles caught a massive frog and was so so happy about his find.
 
 
 We spent so much time outside swimming and eating. 




Kade took Miles down to the creek to fish.
The rest of us went on a walk and saw them in action. 
It makes my mama heart so happy when I see my kids happy.
And this brings Miles so much joy.
The boy loves fishing!!



Soli drove us around in the golf cart. 
It makes everyone calm and is such a good distraction from tantrums!
We chatted about boys and future plans.
It is crazy to me that Soli is driving, I was at the hospital the day she was born!

We went to a museum where we looked for dinosaur bones, built legos and sat in big shells.
It was a great outing while staying out of the heat!
We drove up to see my brother and his family!
They are so fun and we love them so much.
Lane danced to the song Baby Shark and gave us lots of laughs.
The girls gave Andie a stuffed tiger that is now the favorite thing.
Miles and Beckett boy who are only 15 months apart continue to amaze us with their size difference. 
Both are on the complete opposite spectrum of size.
Hilarious and sweet all rolled in to one.
They are good cousins these two.
 
And then there is my brother who I adore.
Uncle Byron is awesome and it was so fun to spend some extra time with them.
 


We are already counting down to the next time we see everyone again.

Thank you Texas, we love you!



May 3, 2021

Imagination Machine

(June 3, 2019) 
 
This sweet first grader had an awesome day!
A while back he wrote a funny story about a dragon stuck in a tree and a beaver coming to the rescue. 
And that clever story was chosen by 'imagination machine' where they act out the story and bring it to life in front the of the school.
Miles and five others were selected and it truly was so special for them.
It was so fun to watch his story unfold.
He loved how silly it was and that all the kids laughed.
I saw his confidence level increase right before my eyes.




 

December 20, 2020

mothers day

(may 2019) 
 
It doesn't take much,
but when I saw this poster hanging on my window-I gasped!
I love love love it!
All my babies hand prints!!!

 
We went to Grammys house for lunch and ate outside on her porch.
She loves her patio so much.
And we love Grammy so much.


Being a mother is all I wanted.
It is by far thee hardest thing that I do.
It is the most rewarding and the most draining experience of my life.
These kids are my everything.
And I am so grateful to the women who carried these babies and allowed me this opportunity of being their mom.
Happy Mothers Day.
 

Family Disneyland day

(May 2019)


Romney doesn't always get to go with us to Disneyland so when he does WE ALL LOVE IT!
The older the kids get the more and more magical it gets.
We started the day off at Disney Jr and watch all the characters.


 
We spent time in Carsland.
These beads have offered endless amounts of entertainment for years!!!
'
 
 These two were hilarious in Flos cafe. 
 

Baby Lane loved the carousal

 
These two LOVED the Mater ride.
 
 
Romney and Miles went on the Incredibles ride!!!!
Miles first upside down ride.
He did it, and he LOVED it.
He looks so tiny in that seat.
My mama heart was nervous but he was so excited.

We got to see Pluto today too.
When things are too crowded or were waiting for our fast passes we like to go to the sorcerer corner.
They like to go see Crush the sea turtle, go into the Beasts Library, and spin the wheels to see different characters appear.


We love Disneyland so much but really love it when Daddy can come with us.

It's always hilarious when Miles hops on the stroller for a ride at the end of the day.

Celine Dion

(May 2019)
 
Jen Williamson, Becki Mitchell and I made a quick trip to Las Vegas for the weekend so we could see Celine Dion before she retires her show.
Shes been singing at the Colosseum for over 15 years.
 
We went to a yummy restaurant, stuffed our bellies and had so much fun laughing together!

 

We were pretty pumped to be there.

 She was AMAZING!!!
Her voice was flawless.
Seriously.
Romney took me to see Celine 10 years ago and her show was quiet, calm and very intimate.
This round was a full blown production!
She is getting ready to tour and must be learning how to put on huge concerts.
It was so fun!
 We sang our hearts out the entire time!
 We slept in until noon the next day, went and got more yummy food.
While at breakfast we were talking about how amazing the show was and that we would totally go again.
Before we knew it....
We were searching for more tickets!
And in a blink of an eye we bought 3 tickets for that night!
We went and got massages, pedicures, ate more yummy food.
We had already checked out of our hotel so we had greasy massage hair, and tried to kinda clean up for the night.

This was the best we could do.
But we had even better seats and thee BEST night.
We sang so loud and got to go up front for a little and we danced our little hearts out.
The concert ended late and we had to drive home so Romney could get to work.
We got home in the 3:00am hour and the kids woke me up in the 7:00 hour...and Romney was already gone for work.
 

BUT,

Three things:
1) I'm not in my twenties anymore
and 
2) my love for Celine Dion is still strong
3) best girls weekend ever