The Last Dinner

My parents went to the MTC for one week and then come home for one night to sleep in their own beds before they flew out to Spain. The girls got together and made dinner that evening so we could all have one last night as a family to sit around and chat. We loved hearing my parents tell all their stories from the MTC.

 

 

 

After dinner & dessert were over and it was getting dark, my parents walked each family out to their car one by one to give hugs and say their final goodbyes. It was pretty heart-wrenching to watch my mom hug and kiss the grandbabies while tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn't want to let them go. As we drove up the street we watched the familiar shadow of my dad standing on his driveway in the light of the moon, waving as we drove away like he always does. It made me sad to think I won't see my dad do that for a long time! We miss you, mom & dad!

It's Princess Shoes!

Emme went to a birthday party for her friend Sammy a few weeks ago. We bought Sammy's present (some princess shoes) a few days beforehand and it sat on our kitchen table until we wrapped it. Every time Emme walked past it she was so excited about the princess shoes for Sammy, and she talked about them all week.

The morning of the party I practiced with Emme that when she hands her present to Sammy she should say, "happy birthday, Sammy!" I guess I left out the part where I tell her not to spoil the surprise!

Sammy's aunt took this video for me at the party. Hilarious!

Henry At 5 Months

I can't believe this boy is 5 months old already! They just grow too fast.  He is just as delightful as always, and such a joy to have in our home.

A few notes about Hank the Tank:

• We continue to think this boy is a giant tank, even though he's really about average for his age. He just seems HUGE compared to our petite little Emme.
• We started Henry on solids for a week or two but stopped after a while because he seemed to lose interest. We will try again in a month or two.
• Henry sleeps from 8 pm until 6 am these days. It took a little bit of tough love (aka sleep training), but he's doing great. He also takes one short (~1 hour) and one long (~3 hours) nap per day.
• Henry still loves his swing. It's groaning under the weight of his giant thighs, but keeps on rockin'.
• Henry still loves his sister. He recognizes her voice instantly and cranes his neck to find her in the room. She can make him smile like no one can.
• Henry still loves to suck on anything and everything except a binky. He drools and drools and drools (teething much?). I swear I can almost see a couple teeth on the bottom on their way but I can't feel them yet. He's even given himself giant hickey on his arm a few times.
• Henry has figured out that Emme will let him suck on any body part he gets his hands on (because she thinks it is funny). The other day I was getting ready one morning when I hear Emme giggling behind me. I turn around to see Henry has Emme's whole foot in his mouth (toes and all) and is going to town sucking on it while Emme laughs her head off. Yuck!
• Henry is a tummy sleeper! When I lay him down for naps & bedtime he immediately flops onto his tummy and we find him that way when we go get him. That makes four tummy sleepers in our house!
• Henry is very close to sitting up. He does really well sitting with a little help.
• Henry is a champion pooper (still). We continue to go through up to 4 outfits a day because his poops are so forceful that they go right up the back. Even sizing up in diapers didn't help.
• I think Henry is going to be a deep thinker. He focuses on one toy much longer than I remember Emme doing. He will stare intently at it and grab and it and play with it for long periods of time. He loves exploring things with his hands and he doesn't get frustrated easily.
• Henry is as ticklish as they come, especially on his back. He has the cutest little belly laugh that makes us all just melt.
• We gave Henry's hair a trim this month. His faux-hawk had a few stragglers that were like four inches long! The rest of his hair is really starting to fill in nicely. I think he's going to have a great head of hair like his dad.

Sweet smiles.

Oh hi there, mister bear.

 

 Do you mind, mom? I'm making a new friend, here.

 Teething, much?

Love you, little man! Happy five months!

Setting Apart

On Wednesday, June 20th my parents were set apart as mission presidents by Elder Scott. We all met in the lobby as various cars of family members arrived. Amy and Stu received special permission to leave the MTC and come to the setting apart, so early that morning my parents & Michelle drove down to pick them up. She called me from the car and put it on speakerphone so I could hear their voices & talk to them for a minute, which was so awesome. I knew it was going to be an emotional day when I lost it right after she hung up!

It was so good to see Amy and Stu. They both looked amazing -- just glowing. I loved getting to see their missionary tags in their respective languages.

 

The lobby of the Church Administration building was very beautiful. My dad pointed out President Uchtdorf and President Eyring's offices to us. Then we were ushered upstairs to Elder Scott's office for the setting apart.  We were joined by Elder Patrick Kearon.  The hallway leading to his office was filled with Elder Scott's artwork and paintings. Although his office was large, they had to bring in extra chairs to make room for us all to sit. By the time we all sat down, my dad looked around and there was only one seat left -- Elder Scott's big armchair behind his desk, which he urged my dad to sit in.

At one point, Elder Scott asked everyone in the room who had been on a mission to raise their hand. Twelve of the sixteen of us had. I thought that was very impressive. Elder Scott addressed my grandparents and asked them about their missions. They told some stories I'd never heard before, and even Elder Scott was impressed with their service.

My favorite part of the setting apart was listening to Elder Scott give advice. He wasn't rushed or hurried, even though I'm sure he had 10 more mission presidents to set apart that morning. He gave advice and counsel as it came to him, very naturally. The advice that stuck out most in my mind was when he told my dad that the Lord does not put a seasoned head on nineteen year old missionaries, but they are all doing their best. He was essentially telling him to be patient with them when they do stupid things, because they are all doing their very best with the experience they have. I thought that was nice advice.

Elder Scott set apart my dad and Elder Kearon set apart my mom. After the setting apart, we sat down and Elder Scott talked to us a little more. Then we all stood up to gather the chairs and shake his hand on the way out. Chris was the last one out, and he mentioned to Elder Scott how he had met him in New Zealand when Elder Scott came to speak to the missionaries there. Elder Scott said how beautiful New Zealand was and how he'd love to go back sometime soon. Chris said, "Well if you decided to go, give me a call and I'll go with you!" Yep, Chris invited himself on vacation with an apostle. Sweet.

Then we all headed downstairs to the front steps to take a few pictures. It was a beautiful, perfect day for pictures. A perfect ending to a wonderful morning.

 The four missionaries.

 The whole group.

 The sisters.

 Mom & Dad.

 The four missionaries.

 Mom & Dad with Grandmother & Grandfather Pace.

 The brothers.

 Everyone trying to figure out what the crap Brent is doing.

 All of the boys.

 All of the girls (plus my grandmother's hand).

Bubbles & Beach Balls & Grandparents, Oh My!

We had a little outing to Liberty Park with my parents as one last little grandkid playdate before my parents leave. It was perfect weather and great company. First we ate lunch at the little pavillion and rode the carousel. Then we splashed around in their water pad and played with bubbles & beach balls from Grandma.

 The kiddos.

 The babies.

 

 All the fun just wore this little man out.

 Some boys walking past kicked Emme's beach ball away from her. Tucker saw it happen so he ran over, rescued her ball for her and then grabbed her hand and brought her back to where we were. What a sweet boy!

Bubbles!

 

We love you Grandma & Grandpa! Thanks for such a fun day. We will miss you!