Sydney is 2!!!

Sydney turned 2 a couple of weeks ago on April 8! It was so fun. She had a "caterpillar" themed birthday. It turned out really cute. My mom and brother, Jacob, and sisters Geneava, and Sarah were there. It was fun to have them down for her birthday and Easter. Chris's parents are gone on a vacation and sister's both had sick kids, so we didn't have too many family members there, so it was really great to have some of my family here! Happy Birthday Sydney! We sure do love you!!

My mom stayed for Easter too. That was nice to have them hang out for longer than just a day. We actually were able to do some projects and find time to relax. It's always fun to have family come to visit for a few days!

Chris only has about 2 weeks of school left this semester and I have 5 weeks left til summer break! We both couldn't be more ready to have a break. Hopefully this summer we can actually go on a real vacation with the girls. We haven't done anything with them for a long time, so it will be nice. Sydney and Mckenna are both at great ages to go do something fun. Both more independent than before, so before another baby comes along (sometime down the road in the next couple years... ;D) we need to take advantage of our time together.

Is it really Spring Break?

So I've been so bad about blogging lately.... Like the past 5 or 6 months bad. I am going to try to do better. I got a new app on my phone so maybe it will help me to do better.

This week is Spring Break for Chris and myself. It was a much needed break. Him from classes and me from, well 2nd graders! We have not planned to do anything so it really has been a break so far! Sleeping in. Staying up late. Just doing whatever we want. It's been wonderful so far.

Yesterday I completed my first project of Spring Break. I love having this time to do projects I've been wanting to do for some time but never could find the time. This project was one of those. I made shadow boxes for my girls with their baby stuff in them. I have been saving their little things that I thought would be nice for them to have and putting them in these shadow boxes was just perfect. I love how they turned out. I can't wait to finish my other Spring Break projects!! :)

Leonard & Tricia's Wedding

Last weekend my little brother, Leonard, was married to his sweetheart Tricia. They were married on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011 in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was such a special and fun day. The temple was beautiful and everything turned out so nice. Mckenna absolutely was in awe of Tricia and her wedding dress and everything else about the wedding. She looked beautiful and my little brother looked so handsome and grown up. It is hard to believe he is actually old enough to be married. :)


The reception was really fun. There was a delicious, never-ending dessert bar. At the end of the reception, there was music and dancing. Mckenna LOVED every minute of it and so did Sydney. Actually...we all LOVED it. It was fun to just be with my family and have tons of fun together. It was a special day filled with lots of great memories. I was so glad that we were able to be there with my little brother for his special day! Congratulations Tricia and Leonard! We are so happy for you and wish you all the luck for the future! Welcome to the crazy Francis family Tricia! ;)

Mckenna's 4th Rainbow Birthday Party!

Mckenna turns 4 tomorrow! I can't believe she is already going to be 4! We had a birthday party for her today. She chose to do Rainbow Birthday Party theme. We had a lot of fun planning this party. It turned out so cute too! My mom helped me make a really cute dress for her to go with our rainbow theme. She loved wearing it. She called it her "rainbow party dress!" :)

We did her party at the park and invited family and some of her neighborhood friends. They had so much fun. We went on a treasure hunt to find all the colors of the rainbow. The girls had a lot of fun finding the colors and helping put them back together to make the rainbow. Then we opened presents and had rainbow cupcakes! It was a pretty fun party. We handed out cute gift baggies that had rainbow twizers and worther's originals at the bottom of the bag. The top had a cute saying that said "You're My POT O' GOLD at the End of the Rainbow! Thank You for coming!" I wish I would have remembered to get a picture of them. They were super cute! Everyone loved them!

Chris and I finally were able to get Mckenna her first big girl bike! She has always had too short of legs. This year, we decided she was big enough to get one. We surprised her with it at the end of her party. She was SO EXCITED! It is a cute princess bike complete with streamers, bell, basket, and a baby carrier seat! It is really cute. She is having so much fun with it already.

Overall it was a great day! Tomorrow we have a few other things planned with just family for her real birthday. It is still hard for me to believe that I will soon have a 4 year old! I don't feel like I'm old enough myself to have a child that old! ;) She is growing up so fast. We love her so much! Happy 4th Birthday Mckenna! =)

Mckenna and her friends at her Rainbow Birthday Party! :)

Mckenna and her new bike and blowing out the candles on her Rainbow Birthday Cake! :)

Summer is over =(... School is here =)

Wow... I can't believe I have been so bad at blogging this summer. And now summer is officially over for me on Monday. =( We start teacher meetings next week and school officially starts the next Monday, August 15th. I can't believe it!! I am getting really excited though for this next school year. I get to teach 2nd grade homeroom. Which at my school, is pretty much the equivalent of a regular school teacher. I get to teach reading and writing. I think it should be fun. Lately, my nerves have kind of gotten the best of me and I've had a few moments, but overall I am really excited.

This week, I went in and pretty much got my classroom in order. Chris, Chris' mom, and my sister, Geneava all helped me get it ready. (Thanks again for all your help guys!) My classroom theme is "Reach for the Stars!" I think everything turned out really cute and I hope that the students like it when they see it for the first time! :)

(p.s. my classroom is a LOT cuter in person!! but here is a gist of what it looks like! ;)

So other than school starting, things are going really well for us. We had a great summer. We got to spend a lot of time together, which was really nice. Chris took one summer school class~ Calculus, and I'm so proud of him. He got an A- in it!! He did so awesome! He is such a great student. He makes this teacher/wife very proud! Chris starts school again on August 22. He will have his Associates Degree this next semester and has already started classes for his major. He is going into Network Engineering. I'm excited for him and his is really motivated in school right now.

Mckenna is going to be starting preschool this fall. We found a preschool in Chris' parents neighborhood that she is going to go to. It is the perfect location and she only goes twice a week, so not too overwhelming all at first. I am super excited for her. She is so bright and I know that she needs this to push her and also help her with her social skills. Hmmm maybe it will make her go to bed easier too??? That would be nice!! haha

Sydney is just a cute little fireball. We love her to death. She is trying to say lots of words. She is just learning so much each day and turning into such a sweet little girl. Her and Mckenna are such great friends and even greater sisters. It is such a joy to watch them play and laugh together.

Now onto the next chapter in our lives... my 2nd year of teaching, Chris' college continuted, and Mckenna starting preschool! We will be very busy at this little house!! :) Life is good!

My Family Get Together

My family has started a new tradition. Every year around the day my Dad passed away (June 18), we get together to celebrate his life and to reunite with everyone. It's hard to believe that it has been 3 years since he passed away. I miss him so much, so getting together with my mom and brothers and sisters was really important. This year we decided to get together up North. It was also Father's Day weekend so it was even more fitting to celebrate Dad's life. On Saturday, June 18, we started the day by going to the Provo Temple to do a session. It was so neat. It was the first time I've ever been to the Provo Temple. What a beautiful temple! One of the best parts about it was that we were able to take some of my dad's ancestor names through. It was such a spiritual experience. I was so glad Chris and I were able to attend. There isn't really anywhere I'd rather be with my family, than in the temple. It was so awesome to be able to go to the temple with my side of the family for a change. It doesn't happen very much so I was so grateful that it worked out. It was hard not to think of my dad while we were in the temple. I think we all felt the same way. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him. So many things remind me of him and so to be in the temple to reflect about him and our Savior was so spiritually uplifting for me. It was a great start to the day.

Later that afternoon, we went up to the Hogal Zoo in Salt Lake. The kids had so much fun. (as did their parents!!) Mckenna and Sydney loved every minute of it. It was a fun afternoon spent with all the kids and my family. That evening we all went out to dinner....and when I say all I mean ALL. There were 22 of us altogether--- 3 babies in carseats, 2 kiddos in high chairs, 2 or 3 in boosters...I can't even remember exactly how we all sat and all fit, but we did. We went to Texas Roadhouse (one of my Dad's favorite places). It was total chaos but a lot of fun!! I enjoyed spending time with my family. We always have a lot of fun when we are together. I love them all so much and I'm so glad and grateful we all got to spend that time together. My Dad left a great legacy and all 22 of us are doing our part to keep it going! :)

Mckenna and her Tonsils

Mckenna has had trouble sleeping for a long time. She has always had trouble sleeping the whole night through. She usually wakes up at least once or twice. We've always noticed she kind of snored, but never thought there was a real explanation. Since she is our first, I kind of always thought maybe it was normal for kids to snore?? Well, Mckenna is fortunate enough to have some pretty fabulous grandparents, her grandma Debbie in particular. She worked at an ear, nose, and throat doctor for a long time. She watched the girls while Chris was going to school and I worked. She noticed one day that Mckenna's tonsils were abnormally huge. After looking for ourselves, Chris and I were shocked at how big they actually were. They were practically touching. Hmmm...could that possibly be why she can't sleep well and she snores? The poor girl could hardly breathe right. Well, we took her into a specialist and he said that was probably the reason. We decided to schedule her for surgery to get them taken out.

On Tuesday, June 21, Mckenna went in for her appointment. Chris, his dad, and brother Stephen gave Mckenna a blessing the night before. She was really, really, REALLY nervous. I didn't want to scare her for a long time, so I didn't talk about it until it was close to her surgery. I'm glad I did, because she was so anxious and worried about getting them out. Which she had all right to be. I'm pretty sure I would have been freaking out too! After she got the blessing, she felt so much better. It was such a sweet blessing. I was so grateful for Chris and his family members and that they were worthy to give her a priesthood blessing. I know it helped her (and her mommy) so much. On Tuesday morning, she was honestly so brave. Grandma Debbie, Chris, Mckenna and I all headed into the hospital. After playing the waiting game for a good while, she finally went back to get started. We said our goodbyes (tried to hold back the tears...it was kind of hard to say goodbye) and waited anxiously in the waiting room. The surgery lasted about 30-45 minutes. The doctor, Dr. Gardner, came out and talked to us about how she did. He said she did really well and that her tonsils were actually quite bigger than he expected so it was a good thing we decided to get them taken out.

About 45 minutes later we were able to go back in and see Mckenna. She was all wrapped up in her favorite blankey and was squeezing her baby doll (for which she named Taylee the morning of the surgery ;) so tight. She was a little out of it still. I went up to her and stroked her forehead and said, "Mckenna, It's mommy." She opened her eyes and looked at me and just started to cry. I was so proud of her and that moment I don't think I will ever forget. She was so innocent and you could just tell she wanted her mommy. I felt so bad for her too. I hate going to the doctor, let alone getting surgery all by yourself being only 3. It was a sweet moment for me. Chris and I brought her a stuffed giraffe (She said that was her favorite animal we saw at the zoo the previous weekend.) with 5 huge princess balloons attached and we gave her a present for being so brave. It was a Tangled barbie doll that she had been really wanting. Those little gifts cheered her up quite a bit. That and having her grandma right there too!

She has been recovering really well. Other than not wanting to sleep in her own bed and being a little ornery, she has been doing great. (as long as she has her Tylenol too!) We haven't noticed a big change in her sleeping yet and since she has still been swollen, the snoring hasn't exactly stopped yet either. But Chris and I are hopeful that as the weeks go on, she will get better and we will see an improvement in her sleeping. We hope so anyways! We are really grateful that everything went smoothly and that it is over (for the most part). It was quite the ordeal to go through with a 3 year old. :) A very cute 3 year old! We love you Mckenna!!