The Cederstrom's

Dance schedule

2012-02-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Ella the dancing queen has performances and competitions coming up and we wanted to let you all know when you could come watch her dance.

Feb 10th Basketball JV game @ Ririe High School (perform around 6 PM)

Feb 11th Shelley Showcase-Shelley High School @ 1:30 PM

March 17th Bonneville Competition-Bonneville High School

March 31st Sugar Competition-Sugar High School

April 21st Blackfoot Competition-Blackfoot High School

Cupcake Craziness!!!

2012-01-25T01:56:00.000-08:00

Yeah so I got really hungry tonight and decided to make cupcakes, but I think I got a little carried away....

2012-01-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy Birthday Jenn Jenn Dear! Happy Days will come to you all year if we had a wish then it would be... A HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you from me!!!

Happy Birthday Jen! You are sooooooo awesome! You always take us to do the funnest things!

Love you,

Ella, Elena, and Evie

Happy 1st Birthday Evie!

2012-01-15T17:21:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Evie E!

(more pictures to come)

Ella the Hip Hop Diva

2012-01-07T10:39:00.001-08:00

Ella is loving dancing this year. She has already performed twice and has 4 or 5 more performances coming up. Here is a video of her performance last night. It isn't zoomed in hardly at all but she is in the back row on the left to start. I'll try to get a better video later.

A walk in the canyon

2012-01-07T09:59:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-15T11:08:00.000-08:00

Happy 4th Birthday Elena Pearl!

2011-11-17T08:01:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that four years ago today I had my second beautiful baby!

My ELENA PEARL is 4 today!!!

When Elena woke up today she wanted french toast, so we made french toast with apple butter and cool whip. YUM! Starting the day out right!

Nighmare Before Christmas

2011-11-16T08:14:00.000-08:00

Right after Halloween this year it snowed and our Halloween Pumpkin Patch looked a lot like the cemetary in The Nightmare before Christmas after Jack makes Christmas. I thought these picks turned out pretty cool so I thought I would share them.

Christmas Preview

2011-11-11T21:43:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to give you a little preview of the madness that is our family over the holidays. We ROCK IT!!!

Cederstrom Halloween Rap

2011-10-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Ok Jenn you asked for posts, so you got one!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

The Red Barn Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-21T22:29:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, while Ella was at school, Elena, Evie, and I went with "playgroup" to The Red Barn Pumpkin Patch in Idaho Falls. (It is right across the street from the back entrance of Tautphaus park zoo.) We had so much fun! The girls loved looking at the pumpkins!

Elena climbed clear to the top of the pumpkin tower!

Their little train was so neat. The kids got to go on a ride around two pumpkin patches and through some tall corn stalks.

Evie wasn't quite big enough to go so we took pictures instead.

2011 Cederstrom Halloween Party Extravaganza

2011-10-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

(Click on the slideshow to see the pictures bigger.)

Random Fun...

2011-10-11T23:29:00.001-07:00

Stylin!

All I said was "look evil!"

Crocheted Witch hat! Super duper cute!

Ella's 1st Day of 1st Grade

2011-09-01T20:05:00.001-07:00

Ella is so excited for school this year because she gets to eat lunch at school and ride the bus to and from school. I think she almost got TOO excited cause her first day of school she spent a few hours in the school nurses office with a tummy ache! Silly girl! She is getting soooo big! I can't believe I have a 1st grader!

Evie's 6 mo pics

2011-09-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

Happy DADDY Day!

2011-06-20T18:12:00.001-07:00

RODEO DADDY

(For some reason this pic really reminds me of my daddy...)

"When tough little boys grow up to be dads they turn into big babies again..."
My Daddy makes the best bed, he's warm and holds me tight!

We love our DADDY!!

Happy DADDY's Day Daddy!!!

Stampede Days 2011

2011-06-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

We had tons of fun this weekend with Grandma, Grandpa, and Jen when they came up for STAMPEDE DAYS!!! We got to go to the rodeo, the parade, and to the park. Here are a few of the pics I have so far. (I will post more when I get them)Evie's 1st Rodeo! (actually this was her 2nd rodeo cuz this was Sat night)

Cutie Cowgirls at the Rodeo

Chillin' with Daddy

Aunt Jen spoiled all of us this weekend. She paid for all of us to get our faces painted by a professional face painter. It was sooo fun! I think there were a few people that thought I was crazy at the rodeo, but that's alright!

Evie E

2011-05-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

I have been so bad posting on the blog lately. Sorry! (especially you Jen) Here are some pics of Evie that we got taken back when she was still pretty little. She has grown up a lot the last 2 months but I thought you would still like to see these pics.

GREEN!!!

2011-03-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

It is officially March so I can cover everything in GREEN!
It's a dream come true!!
This month expect to be seeing GREEN!

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-20T10:25:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Making Heart Pizzas

Evie Elizabeth Cederstrom

2011-01-19T10:01:00.000-08:00

Evie Elizabeth Cederstrom

January 9, 2011

5 lb 12 oz and 18 in

She was 5 1/2 weeks early, so she is still spending some time in the NICU getting stronger and learning to eat better. Sorry I haven't posted a lot here, we have a special website set up for her where I do my journaling and post pictures. If you would like to be invited to the website then click here and ask for an invitation or send me an e-mail. Thank you for everyone that has helped us! We love you!

Feeling Pregnant

2010-12-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling bad that I haven't posted any Christmas pics. We had a wonderful time in Utah with Cederstroms South, and I have pics to post, but I am feeling pregnant and tired today. I will try and post them soon! Chant the mantre... only 6 more weeks... ONLY 6 more weeks... dang I have 6 more weeks?!?

Santa Baby...

2010-12-12T22:24:00.001-08:00

Tell Santa what you want for Christmas...
I want a Bullseye flashlight and a Woody...

I want Wendy's Music Box and Polly Pockets...

Happy Birthday Emmett Michael!!

2010-12-04T23:13:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Emmett!
In order to celebrate Emmett's Birthday we took a bunch of hats to the hospital for the babies that share Emmett's birthday. The girls had a great time giving the presents to the moms. Ella would hand a present to each mom and then say "it's Emmett's birthday today!" It was so much fun to see them so excited.

These are all the hats I made to take to the hospital.

We had 10 different gifts bags that each had a card, an angel, and a hat. We handed out 6 of these bags ourselves and left 4 bags and 5 more hats for the nurses to hand out.

I can't say that we did a lot for Emmett's birthday, but these few hours that we spent at the hospital were wonderful. We were able to share happy moments with some moms and their babies and still remember our own angel baby that watches over us each day.

Oh my angel boy, how we miss you and wish you were here. Watch over us and remember that we love you even if you only spent a short amount of time here. This was all in memory of you!

Letters to Santa

2010-11-30T21:44:00.001-08:00

This week we have jumped head first into the Christmas spirit! We have our tree up, our wreath on the door... ok that's about all the decor we have up yet, but still.... When David left after Thanksgiving he gave the girls a list of things they are supposed to be doing. So far we have checked item number 1 off the list.

1) Write letters to Santa

Elena's belated birthday presents

2010-11-29T22:13:00.001-08:00

Elena was so excited when she heard that Daddy was bringing more birthday presents with him when he came home for Thanksgiving. Since these are the only pics I have of her birthday (so far) to share here they are!

Elena loves her new boots. She wants to wear them everyday. The thing she likes most is that she thinks she can walk in knee deep snow now, because she has her boots on!

What does Elena spend most of her time doing these days? Coloring on the white board that Grandma and Grandpa Cederstrom gave her.

These shoes are soooo cute, and Elena loves them!

Elena's BEAUTIFUL Christmas dress! She loves to wear her Christmas dresses. (and that is from the kid that won't let me do her hair most times cause she "wants to look like a boy")

Ella at the dentist

2010-11-17T08:05:00.001-08:00

Ella went to the dentist for the 1st time this month. (well, this is the first time that she let anyone do anything. Last time she wouldn't even let them polish 1 or 2 of her teeth)

This is Ella supporting her super cool shades while she catches some rays from the dentist light.

Ella was so brave! She let them polish her teeth, floss her teeth, put fluoride on, and take X-rays! (That's a big leap from last time.)

Ella holds up her bag of goodies that the dentist gave her.

IT'S A GIRL!!

2010-11-13T00:05:00.000-08:00

I know for most of you this might be old new, but due to my pregnant brain that can't remember anything I was having complications logging into Blogger for awhile, so...

It's a Girl!!

This is the pic of our "gymnist" daughter. (yes, those are her toes touching her forehead)
Her adorable profile!

Her cute little face! Some people say they think this picture is creepy, but I LOVE IT!! I think that she looks a little like Ella.

Her long skinny feet. Another clue that she might look like Ella. Elena has small feet altogether, but Ella has always had super-long feet that are just as skinny as they are long.

With only about 3 more months to do, I can't wait to see this beautiful baby girl and hold her in my arms.

Coming to a kitchen near you...

2010-09-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

Coming to a kitchen near you...

LASAGNA

Famous Food Critic Ella Jean Cederstrom says

"Mommy this is the best dinner you have ever made!"

So try "LASAGNA" in your house TODAY!

Here we go again...

2010-09-12T22:16:00.001-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard...

We are expecting another baby in February 2011.

I have been waiting for so long to post these ultrasound pictures of our next baby. I'm not exactly sure why I waited so long, except after losing Emmett I just didn't want to tell people until I was pretty sure that everything was on the up and up.

The first pictures were taken clear back at the end of June. Dr. Leavitt asked to come in and get an ultrasound pretty soon after I got pregnant so that we could monitor this baby all the way along. After informing me that I made into her "book" with Emmett and not to do that again, took these pictures of our new baby and let me know that at the time the baby wasn't any bigger than a grain of rice.

The next picture was taken the first week in August at my first High Risk Doc appointment. For as little as the baby was I couldn't believe how much it was moving around and kicking. I don't know if you can tell in this picture but the baby kept putting it's hands up by its face too. I can't explain how nice it was to see a healthy moving baby even if it still was inside of me!

Unless Dr Leavitt decides to do another ultrasound before then, my next ultrasound is scheduled for October 19, with the high risk docs. Hopefully (unless the baby is shy like Ella) we will find out what we are having that day.

Visiting Baby Emmett

2010-09-11T17:47:00.001-07:00

We were driving home from Idaho Falls today and Ella saw a Cemetary. Next thing she asked if we could go visit Emmett sometime, so we drove out to the cemetary for a visit.

Elena likes to pet Emmett's bear when we go. Hopefully she won't rub all the texture off.

It is always interesting the conversations we have when we are in/leaving the cemetary. Today Ella was asking me if Grandpa Gene knew her when she was a little baby. I got to explain that Grandpa didn't know them when they were babies, but Grandpa knew Ella, Elena, and Emmett in heaven before they came here to Earth. The girls got excited, not only to know they knew Grandpa before they came here, but also to know that they knew Emmett there.

Bear Lake 2010

2010-08-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend we got to take our annual trip to Bear Lake/Pickleville. Friday night we spent at the one and only PICKLEVILLE PLAYHOUSE!!

Friday we got to see the show "Bandito rides again." I honestly think that my kids are two of Bandito's biggest fans. (even as I am writing this the kids are laughing saying "I wanna see Bandito) They laughed just as hard as all the adults even they didn't get half of the jokes. Ella's favorite part of the show was when the hero and heroine were playing the air guitar and singing to each other. Although most of the kids in the crowd weren't sure about him, Elena's favorite part of the show was the big pink bunny. (you have to see it) She thought it was hilarious when Bandito shot the bunny. What can I say my kids are morbid!

Saturday we got to go to beach. It was so much fun! We made two pretty awesome sand castles and spent a little time in the water. Check out these pics of our time at the beach.

I don't have any pics from Saturday night, but we got to eat dinner with Dave's family and go see the show "Crazy about you." For never seeing the show before, I couldn't believe how many of the songs I knew! Some of them included "I've got rhythm" and "Someone to watch over me." Who knew!! Ella LOVED this show!! It was full of dancing and Ella was glued to the stage. She even got a poster for the show to hang up in her room.

Here's to another fun weekend at Bear Lake. WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

OUR Peewee Princess

2010-08-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

This year we decided that it would be fun to let Ella do the Queen Contest at the County Fair. Here at our fair the youngest age group is from 3 to 6 years old. I was a little nervous that Ella was going to be to shy to talk in front of people, so practiced as much as possible. (considering we decided to the contest a week before!) We borrowed an old mare that my nephew rides for Ella to ride and we were set!

Well... the horsemanship part of the contest didn't go quite as we had planned. Ella did great warming up the horse in the arena. I asked her if she wanted me to help her walk in to start her pattern, but she wanted to do it herself. Her horse walked into the arena, saw that it was empty and started loping straight across the arena. Before we knew it the horse switched directions and started RUNNING toward the gate. When she turned around she threw Ella sideways. LUCKILY Ella held onto the horn for dear life. The scene that unfolded before my eyes was a horse running straight for me with Ella holding the horn, both legs on one side of the horse, and visions of her falling flashing before my eyes! I guess she is stronger than I ever thought because she held on long enough me to stop the horse. We caught our breath, threw Ella back on the horse, and I lead Ella through her pattern. I don't think the judges were very impressed with the symmetry of my figure 8, but I did it anyway. When we got around to the judges, Ella was still crying, but she managed to answer all of the judges questions.

The morning Ella got up bright and early to go and have her personal interview with the judges. They asked her: What does the American flag look like? What cartoon character would you be? What color is your horse? and What breed is your horse? Of course I wasn't able to go in the room with her, so I'm not sure how she did, but she acted very confident.

Later that night she got to do her Presence and Composure, along with her "Speech." For their speech the Peewee Princesses were supposed to tell their name, their parents names, and something about their horse. Watch the video, I think she did a great job.

The following week I got to witness personally how much Ella's confidence grew just from those few days in the contest. Ella sold tickets for the rodeo and the fair BBQ and talked to everyone who bought a ticket. She even sat at the drug store for a few hours and sold tickets to total strangers. She did great!

When it was all said and done she got 3rd place in ticket sales (not bad for a 5-year-old when she was competing against the big girls!) and she won Speech! Of all of the things for her to win, she won the competition where she had to stand in front of a large group of people and talk!!! I was sooo proud! She might not have won a sash or a crown, or even the title but she made us proud. She will ALWAYS be

OUR PEEWEE PRINCESS!!

Congratulations Ella!! We love you!!

Memorial Day 2010

2010-06-09T10:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Memorial Day!!

This memorial day weekend we went to the cabin and spent time with David's family. On Saturday we went to Jackson and had lots of fun looking in the shops. On Monday we went and visited cemetaries.

This is my Grandpa and Grandma Boyle's grave.

This is my Great Grandpa and Grandma Drake's grave

This is baby Emmett's grave.

I decided that I want to try and come back to Emmett's grave every Memorial Day and take a picture of our family. Because of Dave's choice of work, this might be difficult but we are going to try.

Baby Emmett and Grandpa Boyle's graves together forever!

Little Chickadee Preschool Graduation 2010

2010-05-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

This year was Ella's 2nd and final year at Little Chickadee Preschool. She has had a really fun year and this week was Preschool Graduation. Here are a few pictures from graduation...

Ella has had so much fun with her teacher (and aunt) Danna. I think she will miss getting to hang out with Danna next year when she heads to Kindergarten.

Here is Ella with some of her friends from School at graduation.

CONGRATULATIONS ELLA!

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU AND HOW MUCH YOU HAVE LEARNED THE LAST TWO YEARS!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Vintage Pearl Giveaway

2010-05-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

This site is giving away the cutest mother's necklaces for Mother's Day. Go and enter to win one!! Hurry fast it ends soon!

http://www.thevintagepearl.blogspot.com/

The "B" Pooch

2010-04-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

"In 2008 a cuddly canine was sent to a estrogen filled house in Southeast Idaho. Imprisoned daily by his female task master for actions that are every dogs right. This dog quickly learned that if his tail was cut off he would be released into household battlefield. Today, still yelled at by the females, he survives as a shadow stocker of feline and men alike. If you have a noise, if no one else will protect you, and if you can keep him from jumping on you, maybe you can hire the B-Pooch..."

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T22:20:00.000-07:00

This year we got to go to Grandpa and Grandma Cederstrom's for Easter. It was so much fun! We colored eggs, found eggs, and the Easter Bunny even came to visit!! It must have snowed a lot after he came cause there weren't any tracks... If only it wouldn't have snowed, it would have been perfect!

The Easter Bunny

2010-03-31T14:15:00.001-07:00

Today we went to storytime at the library, and guess who showed up...

The Easter Bunny!!!

Macy wasn't so sure that she liked the Easter Bunny...

Elena even cried cause the bunny is soooo scary! "It's just a wee bunny!"

Ella was being her normal shy self, but at least she walked up to the Easter Bunny by herself.

Macy's Birthday Party

2010-03-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

This week we got to go to a birthday party for the girls' friend Macy. They had so much fun playing, that I thought I would share the pictures.

A life not forgotten...

2010-03-18T22:34:00.000-07:00

Usually I post my thoughts and feelings about Emmett on a separate blog that has become my journal. Tonight, however, I want to share my feelings with all of you.

One of my good friends from Bunko sent me this amazing blog www.agoodgrief.com. This blog has stories of people who have lost loved ones or those who are going through difficult trials.

Tonight I read a story and I felt as though it were my own words. The blog entry was titled "Untold stories." The girl was explaining how she was going to lunch with an old friend that had a daughter the same age as her little girl that had passed away. She was really nervous to see her friend, and was scared she would cry seeing her friend's little girl. Those of you who have lost a child will agree with me when I say that her friend did the most wonderful thing anyone could do. She asked her to tell a story about her little girl that had passed away.

Quoting from the blog entry, this mother wrote,

"I was breathless for a moment and then the floodgates opened. But simultaneously, I felt like I took a breath again, a real breath, for the first time since Lucy died... She was the only person to ever ask me that question. Two years later, she is still the only person that has ever asked me that question. “Tell me a story about Lucy…” And you know what? I don’t remember what story I told her. It was just such a relief to know that my daughter was not forgotten...Isn’t that what we do as parents? Tell the latest stories of our children? The hilarious things they say, the milestones they reach. They are part of our everyday evolving story and world. What hurts now is thinking of all the untold stories over the past two years that I cannot tell... I’m left with telling the same ones over and over again. And being asked to share them is like being told, “Your daughter’s life is still recognized, important, and special. She is not forgotten. Tell me all about her.” And that is what Karin did for me. She let me share a story of the past because I don’t have any of the present..."

Reading this was like an "Ah-hah" moment for me. For the first time I realized why I like to talk about what happened to Emmett so much. It is one of the only stories from his precious little life that I have to share. No wonder it means so much to me when I can share Emmett's story. No wonder it means so much to when people ask me how big my babies are and I can answer and tell them about ALL my kids not just the one's that I am lucky enough to have with me now. No wonder, talking about Emmett makes me feel better, even if I have to cry before I get there. How grateful I am for people like me who are willing to share their feelings in order to help others in the same situation. I have found so many wonderful people to share the joys and sorrows from Emmett's life with. Thank you so much to all of you who have allowed me to share my feelings and stories with you. I have grown so much closer to so many people that I love. Thank you so much.

A life not forgotten

EMMETT MICHAEL CEDERSTOM

December 4, 2009

6 lb 3 1/2 oz and 20 in

~He had long fingers and toes

~ His hair was lighter than the girls

~He was born at 36 1/2 weeks gestation

~He had elf ears just like his sisters

~ He looked just like my Elena Pearl's baby pictures

~His sisters love him and still ask about him to this day

~His daddy was soooo proud of him and loved him so much

~He Born into the Covenant and therefore eternally connected to his family

~Right before he died his father and Dr Leavitt gave him a blessing and reminded how much we love him.

~He IS and will always be our little angel

Our Washington Trip

2010-03-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some videos from the Seattle Aquarium!

Happy Flowers...

2010-02-23T21:12:00.001-08:00

Last week I was having a VERY bad day. I had started crying early in the morning and couldn't get myself to stop until I fell asleep later that afternoon. Dave went to his meeting and when he came home he had bought stuff to make fajitas for dinner, Andes mints to make brownies, and a pot of daisies to make me happy. He said that someone told him that daisies are the "happiest" flowers. What a good man I have for a husband.

Thank you Honey

for buying me my

Happy Flowers!!

Ballerina Girl

2010-01-23T22:33:00.000-08:00

Ella got this new dance outfit for Christmas. She wore it to dance and everyone thought it was soooo cute! She is turning into my little ballerina girl!

2010-01-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

Ride'm Cowboy

2010-01-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

Whoops! I'll fix these when I get home!

Snow Day 2010

2010-01-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

The other day Daddy was out shoveling the driveway so we all decided to go out and play. The kids were having a lot of fun in the front yard, but Bruno felt left out so went in the backyard and through snow balls for him. He was pretty crazy! There is nothing better than a day in the snow!

Bruno in action

2010-01-02T21:49:00.000-08:00

The Tickle Monster

2009-12-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

Aunt Sherrie is so fun, she can entertain THREE BABIES AT ONCE!!

We have had a lot of fun playing with our family that came up for the weekend. The girl's love playing with their cousins!! Big cousins, small cousins they like to play with them all.

Thanks to the Petty family for being our weekend entertainment.

Boots the Cat-Dog

2009-12-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

Today Ella started throwing a package of apple cider for our cat (yes I said our CAT) to fetch. The miracle is that he would meow and then go get it. Here is a little video of Ella throwing the package.

Memories of Emmett Michael Cederstrom: Part 2

2009-12-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

MEMORIES OF

EMMETT MICHAEL CEDERSTROM

By his father

David Michael Cederstrom

First off Brook and I wanted to publicly thank everyone for the huge outpouring of love and support that we have felt from our family, ward, and community. We appreciate all of it and love you all. Brook and I wanted to try and say something today because we knew that the program would be recorded. We both figured this would be the best way to permanently record our feelings and emotions about all of this. Of course being a father of two daughters I was overly excited to find out Brook was having a boy. Sometimes I denied that and said I didn’t really care one way or the other but I admit that was a lie. As the pregnancy progressed and he became more and more active inside of Brook I was able to experience him more often. Actually I felt him most at night when he would start his aerobics like Brook said. He did not like it when Brook’s belly touched my back in bed. It is interesting and sometimes a little disconcerting to feel someone kick you in the back when you are lying in bed at night.

As the 9 months started to draw to a close Brook of course became more and more uncomfortable and I started to get antsy for her to have the baby. I told her once that life kind of runs in stages and I was ready for the pregnancy stage to come to an end and for the new baby stage to begin. When we went to the hospital on the Tuesday before he was born I think we were both expecting to have the baby that day. I was a little disappointed and Brook was a lot disappointed that we were told to go home for another week of contractions and misery. Of course now we know Emmett was not going to follow the doctor’s recommendation and decided that Friday was as long as he could wait to get here. When we went to the hospital on Friday we were both convinced that this really was it. And it was within an hour or so that Dr Leavitt (Brook’s OBGYN) gave the go-ahead for the c-section. Since we had Elena by c-section and I had been in there for her birth I was not as worried this time about the whole procedure. I guess I thought this would be pretty much the same as last time. Now some of you may know this about me already but I actually enjoy watching the c-section. It is fascinating to me and I think my brother-in-law Mark Cook feels the same way about his kids’ births. I like to see my kids the instant they come out. That’s also when they get their first portrait. Emmett was held up just for an instant so Brook could see him and I could take a picture and then he was handed through the half-door into the NICU.

Before he even left the OR I heard him starting to cry so I knew he had a decent set of lungs on him. That was a relief. And then as they sewed Brook back up occasionally they would open the door into the NICU and I could hear him in their still crying. Before they even wheeled Brook out of the OR into recovery I went with Dr. Leavitt into the NICU to see my son. He was in an oxygen tent and was wiggling all over the place and crying. The nurse said that he was really working at breathing and as I watched his little chest rise and fall I could see that was true. Other than that he looked perfect and occasionally opened his eyes to look at me. I took a couple of pictures of him and a short video of him just moving and crying. Now I know I will be eternally grateful that I shot that video and spent the few minutes with him I did. The nurse told me that I could touch him so I opened one of the port holes into his tent and rubbed his forehead right between his eyes. That always helped to calm down my girls when they were infants. Emmett was no different than his sisters and his crying and wiggling seemed to calm a bit as I my hand was on his head. After a few minutes I went back to recovery and sat with Brook. It was only about 5 minutes later that Dr. Leavitt came back in to tell us that he had been on his way home when a nurse from the NICU had stopped him to tell him that Emmett was not doing as good anymore. I went with Dr. Leavitt straight back to the NICU and there met a team of nurses and specialists crowded around my son’s bed working to keep his little heart beating. After a while the doctors said there was nothing left they could do and they wrapped him in a blanket and gave him to me to take to Brook. But as I walked down the hall to her room he kept wrinkling his nose and wiggling in my arms. I turned to the doctors by me and said that he was not gone yet. It seemed to me that he was still fighting and did not want to leave his parents yet.

The doctors took him back into the NICU and began working on him again. He sustained a weak pulse and was breathing with help as the doctors gave him medicine and blood to try and get his heart to pick up again. Sometime during the 45 minutes or so that they worked on him the second time Dr. Leavitt anointed his little head with oil and then assisted me in giving him the only blessing he would receive in this life. I do not know what I said now in the blessing. But I do remember that I started out thinking he might still recover. I think that by the end of the blessing Emmett’s and Heavenly Father’s and my spirits were finally connecting because the spirit in that room despite all the activity around Emmett and I was tangible. The only thing I distinctly remember from that blessing was at the end when I told him that all he needed to know was that his parents loved him dearly and that we had anxiously awaited his arrival here but that we would accept the will of our Father in Heaven no matter what it would be. Shortly after I gave him the blessing I consulted with the neonatologist and the pediatrician and decided that they could stop working on him. The nurses plugged up some of the lines into him and wrapped him in a blanket and handed him to me. When they pulled the monitors off him he still had a faint heartbeat. He wiggled a bit as I walked down the hall with him just like before but this time he and I knew what was meant to happen.

Luckily for Brook Emmett was able to keep his little heart beating just long enough to be held by his earthly mother for a few minutes before he was finally called back home after only 3 hours here on earth to his heavenly parents. Brook and I were able to spend as much time in the room with him as we wanted. The rest of that evening Brook, myself, and all the others that visited that night just enjoyed holding him and feeling his spirit. I know that his spirit left his body around 8:30 that night but I also know that Emmett stayed close to us all throughout the rest of the weekend. Brook gave him a bath on her bed and a wonderful photographer from the hospital took lots of pictures for us. Those are what you saw in the slide show and on the table. Sometime between midnight and 1 a.m. we finally gave little Emmett up to Sister Johnson (our bishop’s wife) so that preparations could begin to be made for the funeral today.

One of the many visitors we received in the hospital was Shane, one of Brook’s bosses. On one of his visits he said something to the fact that there are no coincidences in life just bumps in the road. And this was a big bump for us. I agree with Shane. There are no coincidences in life and we are meant to learn something from the experiences we have in this life. I have pondered that thought over the last two days and wondered what the Lord wanted me to learn from all of this. As the days since Friday have gone on I have had lots of thoughts clattering about in my brain. To be honest I don’t think I have learned much new information but rather I have been reminded of things I already knew. I know that Emmett is a very special spirit to our Heavenly Father. Emmett had to come and get a body and then return for a purpose that I do not know but Heavenly Father needed him back quickly. I think you have to be someone extra special if even Heavenly Father does not want you to have to endure this life. I know where Emmett is right now. And I know that Brook and I will get to raise him in the next life. Emmett is still my son and always will be because he was born under the covenant that Brook and I made 6 years ago with our Heavenly Father. But I am not worried in the least about him. I know that he is in the company of his grandparents and other family members that have passed on. On Saturday as I was driving home to change clothes and grab some things my mind was mostly blank. Out of nowhere a strong feeling entered my mind and heart that there is another son waiting on the other side. As I pondered that impression I saw in my mind’s eye a picture of Emmett sitting with a group of children. They were asking him all kinds of questions. Two of the things they asked him over and over again were what was earth life like and what were mom and dad like. Emmett is with his other siblings right now helping to prepare them for their turn to come to our family and that thought is comforting. I love my Father in Heaven even more after this experience than I think I did before. Heavenly Father and Mother are real. They are there and they are aware of all of us. There is a plan for each one of us. I know that as much as I know that I am standing here. I am thankful for my temple covenants. It is because of them that I will get to see my son when I leave this life. Emmett has reminded me of how vitally important it is that I stay close to the spirit and try to keep myself pure and unspotted so that when I do move on there will be no doubt in my mind that he will be waiting there for me to pick him up and hug him again. And I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Memories of Emmett Michael Cederstrom: Part 1

2009-12-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

MEMORIES OF EMMETT MICHAEL CEDERSTROM

By His Mother Brook Ann Cederstrom

It was an early spring day around 8 months ago when I found out that I was expecting a new baby. After nine months of trying to get pregnant, I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I took my pregnancy test. The next few months were the hardest that I have had being pregnant I was constantly nauseous and I got really dehydrated. For some reason I didn’t tell hardly anyone I was pregnant for a long time. For some reason the whole thing didn’t seem quite real. We drug our feet telling people we were pregnant but when we did this is what we posted on the blog.

We are excited to announce that we are expecting Baby #3 in late December 2009. I was 14 weeks on Monday, and why I decided to wait to wait this long to DECLARE IT TO THE WORLD I don't exactly know except due to scheduling errors at the doctor's office (as I grumble expletives under my breath) I was not able to get in until today. For some reason, even though I have been puking my guts up for almost a month and a half now, it didn't seem real until I went to the doctor… (WARNING: now that the news is officially "out" on the blog you might get bombarded with posts about me whining about pregnancy symptoms! Be prepared to filter through all blog posts for the next 6 months!)

The most exciting news we received this entire pregnancy was that we were having a boy. I went into the ultrasound by myself because David was at work. He was going to take his break when I called, but he did not get my message. The ultrasound technician was going a long when all of sudden she said out nowhere that we were having a boy. When she found out that I only had girls she screamed with excitement along with me. I drove straight to Target after the appointment and showed David the ultrasound pictures. You should have seen the smile on his face. If you want to know what a happy daddy looks like than you need a freeze frame of that moment. Along with ultrasound pictures this is what we posted on our blog.

For those of you who haven't heard... (which is most everyone) After having our two beautiful GIRLS we found out yesterday that we are (finally) having a BOY!!! David is sooooo excited!!! It has sure been a lot of fun to get to look at BLUE things.

As the pregnancy continued the kids became more and more interested in Baby Emmett. Ella constantly asked me “what’s baby Emmett doing?” and I would tell her he is dancing, or he sleeping or he’s rolling over. Ella loved to feel my belly, and even though Emmett hardly ever actually kicked her, she always thought he did. Occasionally she would get talking to him. “Baby Emmett” she would say, “What are you doing?” She was so excited to have a little brother.

Being the little sister she was Elena would copy everything that Ella said. I really don’t think that she understood about baby Emmett, but she would talk about him anyway. The only thing that Elena picked up on herself was calling my belly button the “Baby button.” She always wanted to see the baby and beep my “Baby button.”

“Remember the “Kicking times” with joy for the life that was there.” Emmett was always a very active boy in the womb. Although I didn’t notice him near as much during the day, he did his nightly aerobics right when I laid down for bed at night. One night I laid down and could not feel him moving. He just laid there. It took me over thirty minutes of bugging and poking him for him to finally move. Because of this night I went to the hospital to have him monitored. From the second they put on the traps until the last minute before I could no longer feel him kick, he never took a break again.

The last few weeks, I can’t deny, have been a struggle for me. Between my belly growing bigger, the baby kicking, and small contractions I have been very uncomfortable. Tuesday night after a day and a half of having contractions at home we went to the hospital to be monitored. Before we left I was having contractions two to three minutes apart, but I was not dilating. In order to keep the baby in as long as possible I went home to wait. Although I had contractions Wednesday and Thursday, it was Friday when I was at work that my contractions got unbearable. Again we came to the hospital and within an hour they let us know that we would be doing the C-section that day.

The day had finally come, we were so excited. Not long after going into surgery they pulled out our beautiful baby boy and showed him to us and then handed him into the NICU. While I was in recovery they came and told me that the baby was doing great, but he needed some oxygen. It was then that David took pictures of our baby. It was not five minutes after David came back that they came with the report that the baby’s heart had stopped beating. The wonderful staff of the EIRMC NICU worked as hard as they could doing everything imaginable to save little Emmett. I will never be able to express how grateful we are for the amazing knowledge and courage that these doctors and nurses showed trying to save our baby boy.

There came a point that there was no longer anything that the doctors could do. The baby was not going to make it. It was then that we got to bring him to our room. No one will ever know how grateful I am that I got to hold my precious baby at that time. He was so beautiful! A member of “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” came and took some amazing pictures that we will cherish forever. We got pictures of people holding the baby, bathing the baby, and even the baby on his own. Oh how marvelous are the volunteers from this organization. I will never forget all the things they did for us.

As we have gone through this experience my thoughts have constantly fallen back to a few thoughts and or experiences that have happened the last few hours. The hospital staff has helped in these situations enough they knew what we would need and helped us gather so many things that will remind us of Emmett forever. These treasures were not only to remember the short time we were living, but also the times that we got to spend with him after he had passed.

Even though situations like this are always hard, we have all learned a lesson or two from this experience. Two of the best lessons that I have learned came from the mouths of small children. The first was from my nephew who had been surrounded by people saying prayers for our precious Emmett. After he heard that Emmett had died he told his mom “It is a good thing that that baby got enough love while he was here.” Even though the doctors, the nurses, or we as his family could not save him, we could love him and that is what we did.

Another lesson I learned was from my sweet Ella Jean. Ella has had a really hard time, so when we told her that Emmett was going to be buried with Grandpa Gene she asked “But when do get to come out on the grass so we can see them.” We should all look forward to the day when we can stand with those we love that have passed on and see them again. By doing this we will strive to be the best we can and then we will be together again.

Ella's Card

2009-12-02T20:31:00.000-08:00

Not just for BOYS

2009-11-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

WHO SAYS THAT WRESTLING IS JUST FOR BOYS?!?!?

Happy Birthday DAVID!!!

2009-11-29T22:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday DAVID!!!

Boots' Christmas Card

2009-11-29T21:45:00.001-08:00

2009-11-23T20:48:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELENA PEARL!!

2009-11-16T22:57:00.000-08:00

Even though it is just Elena's birthday today, we celebrated early this weekend. First we went to Green Canyon swimming on Friday. It was lots of fun swimming with Grandma Tamara, The Cook's, and of course us Cederstroms! I didn't have time to make cake that day, so we did birthday cake on Sunday at Grandma Tamara's house!

Elena got so many fun things: An Ariel doll, a dress up doll, a pony, and clothes!!

What a fun way to turn 2!!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

YEE-HAW!!!

2009-11-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes kids are so silly! Today I had a "I can't wait to show these pictures" moment with Elena... Can anyone say black-mail?!?

Pies Pies Pies!!

2009-11-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

PIE FUND RAISER

Ella is dancing this year and they are doing a fundraiser this month. The money will pay for Ella's dance classes/costumes. Ella is selling 10" frozen pies for $10.00. You can buy Apple, Pumpkin, Pecan, Banana Cream, Chocolate Cream, Coconut Cream, Lemon Meringue, and Red Raspberry. If you would like to buy any pies I need your orders and money by November 16th.

SCARY!!!

2009-10-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

2009-10-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

I wish I could get this comfortable in my nice warm bed, let alone on a hard kennel!

Elena's Shiny Hair

2009-10-21T20:34:00.001-07:00

You might wonder why Elena's hair is always either really shiny or it is matted and disgusting? These pictures are a very good representation of how meal time usually goes with Elena. She eats for a awhile and then it is a requirement to either smear said food in her hair or to put her bowl/plate on her head. I don't know if her hair is shiny because of these daily treatments of gourmet proportions, or if it is because she has to take a bath EVERYDAY to keep from looking nappy!

(P.S. Grandma Cederstrom: Yes, that is a mushroom stuck to her forehead!)

Show me your guns

2009-10-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

Ella is doing a Cowboy Dance in her dance class. In the dance they pretend to shoot guns in the air, so when we came home from dance class I told her "show Daddy your guns." She proceeded to put her arms in the air and show her muscles. So... this is Ella

SHOWING HER GUNS!

New Moon Party

2009-10-13T08:50:00.001-07:00

Last year we went to a "Twilight" party in Pocatello and it was lots of fun, but very expensive. We decided this year we wanted to do our own party and make it cheaper. It is going to be lots of fun. We will have dinner, the movie, and a free T-shirt for only $25. Anyone that wants to come, feel free to let me know we need to get a count ASAP.

Levi Project: Part 3

2009-10-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

Elena and I took another trip to Grandma's house today to do some more sewing. This is a picture of the top of Elena's levi quilt. I think that it turned out really cute. Only one more quilt top to go, and then I need to tie them all. Anyone want to come to a quilt tying party.

Random tidbits of joy

2009-10-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

This is Elena in her "Mad Bomber" hat. It even has the ball on top just like Grandpa Gene's hunting hat!

These are Ella's "Jesus Feet" that she made in church. She was so excited to show them to us when she got home.

Don't tell Health and Welfare, but Bruno isn't the only one that gets sent to the Kennel when he is bad!

Udder Covers

2009-09-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

GET A FREE UDDER COVER!!

I saw this great deal on a friend's blog today. Go to https://www.uddercovers.com choose the "Udder Cover" that you like, put it in your cart, type backorder in for the promo code, and pay $8.95 for shipping. You will get your very own "Udder Cover." Usually they are $32.00 plus the $8.95 shipping, so this is a GREAT deal.

(P.S. For those of you who don't know Udder Covers are breastfeeding covers)

Ella's first Dance Class

2009-09-21T18:10:00.001-07:00

Lately Ella has been watching a couple of different Barbie movies and has become very into dancing around the house. Today was her very first dance class. It was fun watching her, she did a really good job. Her only complaint was that they didn't do enough "Barbie Dancing."

I DO IT!!

2009-09-20T21:19:00.001-07:00

The Hatcheting of Ella Jean

2009-09-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

We had a minor accident today in our house, that left Ella looking like she took a hatchet to the head. It kind of reminds me of when someone shook ketchup and massacred my brother... David was getting leftover noodles for the girls today. Elena decided that he wasn't moving fast enough and pulled the spaghetti sauce off of the stove. For awhile we thought that it was just ALL OVER THE FLOOR until I saw sauce on Ella's shirt which led to us finding the stripe down the back of her head and down the back of her legs. Thus, another Boyle Family Hatcheting Story ends happily.

Levi Quilt Project: Part 2

2009-09-19T09:06:00.001-07:00

I am so excited that I am actually moving along with this project. While Ella was at school Elena and I went to my mom's and I finally got to sew!! This is the top of Ella's quilt. It turned out so cute!! Now I just have to put the back on and tye the quilt. The other quilts are still in piles waiting to be sewn, but at least this one is mostly done!! Keep watching for glimpses of the other quilts.

Exclusive 'New Moon' Trailer Premiere

2009-09-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

Exclusive 'New Moon' Trailer Premiere

You know your child is growing up when...

2009-09-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Today I was trying to convince my 4 year old daughter, Ella, that taking a nap would be a good thing. (This is David by the way.) Of course, she wouldn't go for it. I thought I could at least outsmart her. Alas, it did not work. In fact she turned the same logic back on me attempting to mimic me. I said, "Ok, you have two choices. You can either take a nap or go to sleep." She responded by saying, "No, these are the choices. I can watch a movie or play."

For crying out loud, she is only 4 years old! I thought I was supposed to have more control over her, at least for another 9 years. Oh well, maybe I should just get used to being relegated to the position of "the old guy that thinks he knows what's best but really has no idea". That way when she officially becomes a teenager it will not be much of a change.

Daddy Torture 101

2009-09-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

The other day we were cleaning the living room and Ella was whining a little more than Dave thought she should. To make a long story short she SOMEHOW ended up in the laundry basket upside down. As miserable as she looks in this picture she was laughing and crying like she couldn't decide if it was fun or not!

Levi Quilt Project: Part 1

2009-09-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

If you are anything like me than somewhere in your house you have a huge pile of old jeans that you have the best intentions of making a quilt out of someday. We are no different. We have been collecting jeans since we first got married. For a long time we had dreams of making a huge camping quilt like my mom's. Well, after my Grandma died I inherited her huge levi quilt, so I didn't need to make one for our family anymore. Even though we now had our own levi quilt, we still had a pile of old jeans sitting in our closet. The last time that we went camping we put the big levi quilt down under the kids and due to the inclement weather wished we had it to put over ourselves. It was at that point that I decided that for Christmas I was going to make twin size levi quilts for each of our kids to use when we went camping. Usually when I start a project like this I have the best intentions but I get stuck somewhere in the middle. Maybe it is the nesting instinct in me since I'm pregnant but this time I decided I was going to finish the project.

After cutting who knows how many pairs of jeans (I know I have six waist bands sitting on my floor) I have all three quilts cut out now. I just have to sew them and find back for two of them. My mom found this really cool piece of fabric at the DI that I am using for the back of one of the quilts but it will have to be a surprise what it looks like!

Anyway.... Wish me luck and hopefully in the next few weeks/months I will have some pictures of finished quilts to post.

That's what: Part 3

2009-09-01T08:09:00.001-07:00

I realized today that I never posted the results to the WHAT IS IT? yesterday.

Last week we (well, I should say Dave) were looking for something to eat for dinner, and David decided he was going to make homemade pizza. Well, the only things he could find to put on the pizza were mushrooms, bacon, and corn... yeah, I know corn is really weird! I guess they bought a pizza in Germany once that said it was an "All-American" pizza that had corn on it, so he decided it would be alright here too. I really had to get past the corn. I couldn't think about it when eating it. But, it actually was pretty tasty.

So, I guess the closest person to guessing was Tianna. YAY TIANNA!!!

Hangin' at the Zoo

2009-08-31T12:25:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we got to Hang out at the Zoo with The Rowdy Boys! We had a great time looking at the animals and learning new things about them.

What will he look like?

2009-08-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

The other day Dave and I got thinking...

What will our Baby Boy look like?

Will he look like Ella?

Will he look like Elena?

Will he have Blue Eyes?

Will he have Brown Eyes?

So, we filled out lots of information about ourselves, and came up with a picture of what we think he will look like. So, after much anticipation....

What is that: Part 3

2009-08-27T20:54:00.001-07:00

I know it has been awhile since we played this game. For all of you that need help, you guess what the picture is and on a given day I will reveal the secret. For this particular "What is that?" try to be specific, and I promise that it is not anything discusting like puke.

I will give you the weekend to mull over the detail of this picture, the secret will be revealed on MONDAY!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Stephanie!

2009-08-24T10:11:00.001-07:00

This weekend we got to go to our cabin in Victor and celebrate Stephanie's birthday with Dave's family. We all went swimming Friday, some went canoeing Saturday morning, we all went Jackson on Saturday night, and then we ate yummy food and hung out at the cabin the rest of the weekend.

Happy Birthday Grandma Tamara!!

2009-08-19T21:15:00.001-07:00

Today is my mamasita's birthday. (I would tell you how old she is, but it would horrify the small children, and this a family blog)

For her birthday I decided to make her a "Crazy Cat Lady" cake, because of the herds of cats she has living in her yard. We also bought her a remote that is bigger than her head, so that she can't lose it anymore.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!!!

Thanks for not killing us or our children!

We love you!

Brook, David, Ella, Elena, & Baby C.

Just Chillin'

2009-08-19T11:40:00.001-07:00

Annual Boyle Campout 2009

2009-08-19T08:29:00.001-07:00

This weekend we drove up to the forest just past Helena and went camping with my mom and my siblings. Even though it rained the whole time we were there, we had a great time.

The pictures at the end of the slideshow are from our 2nd Annual Boyle-Grand-Kids Unbirthday Party. Since we are rarely together on the kid's birthdays they all draw names and exchange presents at our campout. It is a lot of fun. Don't believe me? Watch the following video...

Go Tigers!! Soccer 2009

2009-08-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

This year Ella and I got our first taste of soccer.A few weeks before the season started they called and said that they didn't have a coach for Ella's team. At first I was

really nervous, cause I have never played soccer before but we had a great time.

I wouldn't say that Ella is an expert soccer player, I wouldn't say that she really knows what she is doing most of the time, but she had a BLAST playin' with the other kids!

Playing in Logan

2009-08-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Bear Lake and saw David's cousins in the shows at Pickleville Playhouse. On Saturday when we woke up it was raining and cold, so we couldn't go to the lake and play. After we ate lunch the weather cleared up a little bit and so went to Willowcreek park. The kids had so much fun playing and we got some really cute pictures. Here are the pictures of us at the playground.

At the park there was also a little zoo. When I say it was a little zoo, I mean it!! But, the kid's had fun and we saw a few animals that the kids haven't seen before.

Blastid Blogger!

2009-08-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have one of those days when your computer won't work right? Well, I have lots of pictures that I need to post to blogger, but my online albums won't work today. "Blogger cannot connect today..." It makes me crazy!! I finally have some time to post, and the dumb thing won't work! Oh well, I guess... now that you've had to listen to me rant...

Everything else is going pretty well. We will be really busy the next few weeks, but other than that there is nothing to exciting going on.

Hopefully I will have some fun pictures posted soon.

SEE YA!!

IT'S A BOY!!

2009-07-30T22:44:00.001-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard... (which is most everyone) After having our two beautiful GIRLS we found out yesterday that we (finally) having a BOY!!! David is sooooo excited!!! It has sure been a lot of fun to get to look at BLUE things. (Not that Girls aren't fun, but it is fun to have something new to look forward to.) I won't post the explicit picture showing that we know it is a boy, but if you have facebook David has it posted there!

Drown Rat

2009-07-22T12:39:00.001-07:00

Generally when you see a picture like this on my blog you would probably think that my children drown the cat. However, if you have talked to David lately he has probably told you the story about how the cat visciously attacked him for no reason. For some reason the cat and David have a different point of view on what is "provoking. David doesn't think that carrying the cat into the bathroom and then holding him down in a bathtub full of water is enough reason for the cat to attack him. What can I say... I already have 3 kids, one of them is just a lot bigger than the others.

Alpine 4-H Horse Camp 2009

2009-07-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it was another wild and crazy year at Horse Camp this year! For those of you who don't know, my mom and I have been volunteering at Horse Camp ever since I was 18 and slowly along the way we have picked up more of the family to come with us. This year Tracy (my sister), Sherrie (my sister), there kids, my mom, my kid's, and me all went so it was lots of fun! Here are some pictures from camp, I hope you like them!

4th of July 2009

2009-07-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Celebration of Liberty Fireworks 2009

2009-07-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

We had a great time last night watching the fireworks at the lake. The kids spent most of the night throwing rocks in the water and getting soaked, but it was tons of fun. The fireworks were great!

Special Delivery

2009-07-01T20:56:00.001-07:00

Special delivery for Brook and David Cederstrom and family...

We are excited to announce that we are expecting Baby #3 in late December 2009. I was 14 weeks on Monday, and why I decided to wait to wait this long to DECLARE IT TO THE WORLD I don't exactly know except due to scheduling errors at the doctor's office (as I grumble expletives under my breath) I was not able to get in until today. For some reason, even though I have been puking my guts up for almost a month and a half now, it didn't seem real until I went to the doctor. So, sorry for all those who I have offended by not telling you... I didn't tell hardly anyone. Back to the baby at hand. This picture isn't wonderful because the baby was rolling over a lot during the ultrasound, but we think (crossing our fingers) that the baby's head is facing the bottom of the picture and you can kind of see it's spine near the top.

(WARNING: now that the news is officially "out" on the blog you might get bombarded with posts about me whining about pregnancy symptoms! Be prepared to filter through all blog posts for the next 6 months!)

Celebration of Liberty

2009-06-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

Here in town there is a group of people that have started a tradition for the 4th of July called Celebration of Liberty. They started it last year and we have enjoyed being a part of the activities.

Last Saturday was the Children's Parade. (It is always the Saturday before the 4th) Your just supposed to dress up your family is red, white, and blue and march down Main Street.

Last night my mom and Lisa performed in a program that is also a part of the Celebration about the Constitution. There was lots of music, a reinactment of Patrick Henry's speech "Give me Liberty or give me death", and some really good speakers. Glenn Rawson was the key note speaker and it was really good.

The day before the 4th they do a big firework display at Rigby Lake. It is set to music (kinda like the Idaho Falls fireworks) and has actually been really good the last few years. This year I'm pretty sure the music will be broadcast on KUPI 99.

If you want anymore information about the Celebration of Liberty click here.

Happy Birthday Andrew!!

2009-06-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I got to make my brother a fish cake for his birthday. It was a lot of fun, and I think that it made him very happy! If you want to see a closer look at the cake click here.

Happy Birthday Andy!

Stampede Days 2009

2009-06-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

Once I got the rodeo program done for the year, we had a great time at Stampede Days this year.

Friday night at the rodeo Ella rode a sheep for the first time! She was sooooo excited!!! When it came time for her sheep to leave the shoot, it hesitated and then suddenly jumped. Needless to say she ended up on her face right out of the shoot. She was not very happy for awhile, but as Dave carried her back to the grand-stand he convinced her that it was fun, and that she needed to try it again. We'll have to see I guess.... I guess it was worth it, cause she got a bag of prizes just for riding!

The next day we went to the parade on Main Street. It goes without saying that our parade is definetely a small town parade, but it was a lot of fun. Ella got to ride in the parade with her preschool this year. The morning of the parade Ella asked if she got a prize for riding in the parade (because of Mutton Busting) and when I told her no, she almost wouldn't ride. It was a good thing that a bunch of her friends from school were there to ride with, or I don't think she would have gone!! Little stinker...

Memorial Day

2009-06-06T21:34:00.001-07:00

This year we went and spent a lot of time putting flowers on graves for Memorial Day. Ella got really into it this year, the wind was blowing, so she insisted on sitting the flowers back up that had tipped over. She also enjoyed putting her own flowers on graves. The first place we stopped was at the Rigby Pioneer Cemetary to visit my dad's grave.

Next went up to the Ririe Cemetary to visit the graves of my Grandma and Grandpa Nielson. On the way there we had to play "Bushel and a Peck" because my Grandma used to sing it to Ella whenever she went to visit the nursing home. That is how she remembers my Grandma the best.

Last we went to the Victor Cemetary to visit the graves of all of the Boyle and Drake side of the family. It was fun to take the kids and get to show them where all our family is buried.

Preschool graduation...

2009-06-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

(I know that I am way behind, but with vacations and Rodeo program, I haven't had much time)

Congratulations Ella Jean!

Ella had sooooo much fun at preschool this year! She made some good friends too! (The girl's that she is sitting by in the pictures/videos are Taylor and Lizzie. If you have had a conversation with Ella about preschool, I am sure she has told you about them!) Graduation was so fun, the kid's got to sing some funny songs and get their diplomas.