Averien is climbing

Averien learned to crawl up the stairs this last week. On Wednesday morning while I was on the computer I heard her near the stairs and when I came around the corner she was 3 stairs up. I had no idea she knew what to do. She looked at me like she was so proud of herself but then cried like she wasn't sure what to do next. She tried to climb up again all day. Then a few days later she was on stairs again and when I saw her she was half way up. She scares the heck out of me because instead of turning her head to look at me she turns her whole body. When she finally made it all the way up Enoch was behind her the whole time or right next to her. When she would turn around to look at me I would jump a little because I was so worried she would fall down the stairs. When she finally got up the stairs she laid her head on the stairs like she was so tired. It was so cute.

Averien figured out how to climb through the kitchen chairs. It is so funny because she can't completely get over them so she gets stuck. She gets so sad and cries. Poor little girl. She is all over the house now. She isn't afraid to go anywhere. We all just love watching her crawl. She is crazy fast and will find something she wants and heads right for it. We have to vacuum all the time because if the vacuum doesn't eat it she will. She finds the smallest things to put into her mouth.

Averien loves the fridge and dishwasher. If she hears the fridge or dishwasher opening she quickly crawls to it. She loves to take out the silverware from the dishwasher and she also climbs on top of the door. It is so funny. We are always taking her off of it when we are trying to empty the dishwasher. When we load the dishwasher we have to move her completely away because she will grab out all the dirty silverware. When the fridge is open she will try to climb in it as well. I just loves these pictures of her standing in the fridge looking at all the food. It is as if she is looking at it all wondering what she'll eat.

Averien is extremely fun right now and so cute. She is still little and needs us but she is very good at playing on her own and getting things at her level that she wants. She is such a happy little girl.

Averien in the tub

Averien loves taking baths. She gets so excited when she hears the water running. She will crawl as fast as she can over to the tub and then stand up on the side of the tub. If Jacob or Kaelen are bathing she will stand on the outside of the tub watching. She will giggle and squeal. It is so cute. Once she is in the tub she is all over the place. You have to be right next to her the whole time she is in the tub because she moves everywhere splashing and grabbing toys. She loves the water and isn't afraid at all. She will get her whole face wet as well. I don't know if any of our other kids have loved being in the water this much. She may be our swimmer.

Jacob, his Dad and Grandpa's

Last Saturday while Grandpa Fisher was here, Grandpa Fisher, Jacob, Enoch and Grandpa Heileson went to Swan Valley (1 hour or more away) and cut logs for Grandpa Heileson's fireplace for the winter. They were gone most of the day. Jacob really loved it. There was a rope swing near where they were cutting and Jacob enjoyed playing with it. They all got a good workout cutting and carrying wood. They got enough wood to last Grandpa and Grandma Heileson all winter. They have a fireplace upstairs in their house that heats the whole main floor. They have to have wood to stay warm. Jacob seemed to have a good day. He came home happy to have spent the day with his Dad and both of his Grandpas.

Grandpa Fisher and Averien

This weekend we had Grandpa Fisher come from Orem to spend the weekend with us. We always love having him come stay with us. He hadn't been at our house since the end of August so it was really nice to see him. When he came on Thursday evening Averien cried when she saw him. She plays shy sometimes and she did it with Grandpa. It was so funny. She looked at him and then a minute later started sobbing. It didn't take long before she was crawling to him and climbing on him. She soon enjoyed being held by Grandpa as well. I took pictures of Grandpa and Averien together before he left. I love these pictures. She looks so happy looking at him.

Our First Snowfall October 6th, 2011

We had no school October 6th and 7th. It was a long weekend for our kids and we woke up to it pretty cold but then it started to snow. It snowed all day long and night. We got at least 4 inches of snow. It was so crazy. The snow was really wet and heavy. Our trees do not hang that low on the trampoline but because everything is still green and the snow was so heavy as the day progressed the trees hung lower and lower. Trees all over the city were falling down. We were happy that we didn't lose any trees. I hate these fluke snowstorms. It of course will warm up again before it gets cold for a while. Kaelen was so excited for the snow. He got his winter boots out and put on his rain coat and ran around outside forever. He loved jumping on the trampoline. The snow was so heavy that every couple of steps Kaelen would have to stomp his feet to get the snow off them because the snow was making it hard to walk. Kaelen also tried to go out in just a pajama shirt, winter hat and my rain boots but he lasted 30 seconds before he came in. Averien loved seeing the snow too. She crawled right over to the sliding glass door and forever watched it fall. It was fun to see her reaction like that.

Peek-a-boo

Averien loves peek-a-boo. She is so funny when you play with her. She will laugh and grunt and squeal. It is so cute. We all laugh when we play peek-a-boo with her because she is so funny.

(Averien is 8 months old in this video)

Boise State Football and Kellen Moore

The weekend of September 23-25 we had the opportunity to go to Boise and spend the weekend with Noal and Wendy and their girls and to see Annelise and Boyd but also to go to a much anticipated Boise State football game. It was Boise's first home game of the season against Tulsa. We have promised our kids for along time that we would go to a game. We were able to get tickets to this game. Everybody in the family was so excited especially Mom, Dad, Annelise and Boyd because little did my kids know that after the game they were going to meet Kellen Moore the Boise State football quarterback and Heisman hopeful. The kids had no idea. We decided that we would make a fun event of the game and treat the kids to tons of food at the game. We certainly got tons of food. We got popcorn, hotdogs, ice cream, candy, pop and donuts. Yah we ate a lot. The kids loved it. It was a really fun game. It has been many years since we went as a family to a Boise State home game. Kaelen wasn't born the last time we went. When we walked into the stadium and Rachel and Jacob saw what it looked like with everybody in their colors they were so shocked. They loved it. They couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces. We all had a lot of fun. Averien was great and even slept for part of the game, Kaelen was great until the end when he got tired and really wanted to go to bed. Boise State beat Tulsa 41-21.

After the game we met Annelise and Boyd in the sports center where all the coaches have their offices and where they do the news conferences. Annelise the week before had talked to her institute teachers about trying to get her nephew who LOVES Kellen Moore to some how meet him. Well they asked her to send them a letter and they would send it on to people in the the sports department. Well they came through. They set it up for us to have a private meeting with Kellen Moore after the game and to get some things signed. I was so excited when Annelise told us what she had done. While we were waiting somebody said so you are waiting to see Kellen. My kids were so excited and shocked when they heard that.

When Kellen came walking out he right a way said "hey Jacob". Jacob was so excited. We all couldn't stop smiling. He was so awesome with Jacob. Jacob for the first time in his life couldn't say anything at first. Kellen signed so many things for us. I am excited because we are now going to frame stuff and redecorate his room with Boise State memorabilia. Jacob though did embarrass me. As people know I have a little crush on Kellen Moore. I think he is a cutie but more so for his football talent and his awesome personality. Well Jacob said to Kellen that my mom had a secret. Kellen looked at me and said yah. Well Jacob immediately said "my mom has a crush on you". I was so embarrassed. Both Kellen and I turned bright red. Jacob I sure love you. He and I both laughed though. Kellen probably spent 15-20 minutes with us. Afterwards Jacob kept saying that this was the best night of his life. He met his hero and saw a football game all in one night. Not bad.

And she's off....

Averien officially started crawling September 19th, 2011. She for over a month and a half has been getting up on all fours and would rock back and forth. A week before she started crawling she went a foot or two but then would lay on her belly. On the 19th, she crawled 5 feet and after that she really took off. She is so happy to be crawling. She loves to follow everybody around the house and crawl to her toys and play with them.

I really love these pictures of Averien and Rachel playing at the stairs together. Averien kept smiling and laughing. Averien would put her face right up to Rachel's through the banister.

Averien has just gotten so much cuter since she started crawling around. She loves to roam the house but at all times needs to know where you are. She is also our human vacuum since starting to crawl. We have to make sure the entire house is vacuumed all the time and the kitchen floor is swept. She puts everything in her mouth. It makes us have to watch her all the time now.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Rachel had a doctor's appointment at Shriner's hospital on May 5th. It was in the middle of the week and Enoch wasn't able to come so Grandpa Fisher (who was staying with us for a couple of weeks) came with Averien, Rachel and I. We had to leave at 5:30 in the morning to make it in time for Rachel's appointment. The drive down to Utah went really well and the appointments went good. After her appointment we ate and then at the last minute decided to go and visit the church museum. Rachel had never been before and she really loved it. We had a lot of fun. The kids section was so much fun. They had dancing and other fun interactive sites. I want to go back with the rest of the family. Kaelen and Jacob would love it. Rachel really loved looking at all the church history items. She loved seeing things that the pioneers brought with them but also things from when the church was first organized. She also loved looking and learning about all of our prophets. We were able to see a replica of the pulpit at the conference center. The museum also had a quilting exhibit going on. They had quilts from the early pioneers to quilts made out of the tags from the back of shirts. It was so amazing. They had on display dresses from the 1800's as well that were all sewn by hand and worn as wedding dresses and for church. It was really cool. We had so much fun all of us together. Averien was really good as well. We always go to Utah at least 2 times a year and we never look at church sites. We need to next time with the whole family stop and visit temple square and other church sites near by. Heck we have never even seen the conference center. We need to all see that for sure and maybe even go to conference in it.

Funny Kaelen

Kaelen is always making us laugh. He will put on the funniest things but also do the funniest things. He will put on random things and run around the house in it. He will dance around and act crazy when he doesn't think we are watching. It is fun to just watch him and see what he does. He found my shower cap and put it on his head and danced around with it on like it was a hat. He also put on my rain boots while wearing nothing but his pajama shirt and diapers. It was so funny.
Kaelen loves grapes and strawberries. He is always in the fridge grabbing them out and then eating them where ever. He will take the entire grape bag with him to different rooms to the house to eat. When we have strawberries we will always find the carton of strawberries on the kitchen floor with half of the strawberry eaten and the rest back in the plastic carton. It is annoying that he does that but also so cute and funny at the same time. I am glad he at least does it with fruit instead of chocolate or other candy.

Broken Elbow

Rachel broke her elbow on Monday April 17th. It was in the evening while we were getting everybody ready for bed. I was in the kitchen doing dishes and Enoch was going outside to put something in the mail box. We heard a few thud. I thought that one of the boys had fallen but they were both in the kitchen near me. When I went around the corner Rachel was in the middle of the living room floor laying down holding her elbow. She said that she missed the couch and fell on the ground. We thought that she had just hit her funny bone. I even laughed. After a while though she started crying and holding it more. We kept trying to figure out what happened too because we didn't quite understand what happened. She went to fall back on the couch and missed it completely and fell and hit her elbow. She hit it just perfectly that she broke it.

Enoch kept saying that he didn't think it was broken because she could move it. Well we looked on the Internet and the only time you can't move it when you break something is if there is nerve damage. Enoch after that took her to urgent care. When they left the house she was really crying.

They came home an hour and a half later with a broken elbow in a sling not even a splint, pain pills and then told us to call in the morning with a orthopedic surgeon to call. They didn't even splint it so she was so miserable all night.



When we called the next day for them to call an orthopedic surgeon to have it casted they took hours to call and when they got us an appointment the soonest was the next day on Wednesday. I was so mad. I told Enoch that there was no way she would make it till Wednesday. Well he took things into his own hands and called a bunch of doctors. When we called a Dr. West they said that they were booked for the day. When Enoch told them he would call somebody else they immediately said that they would have the xrays sent over and would call back. Well within 5 minutes they called and asked if we could come in right away.

When we went in Rachel was in so much pain and the pain was making her sick. She started throwing up. She was miserable. They talked to us and told us that she needed surgery on her elbow and would do it tomorrow. Wow what a shock for us. We had no idea that she would need surgery we just thought we were going in to have it casted. They said they would have to put wires and pins in her arm that would stay in 4 months. The cast would stay on for a few weeks but the pins would come out later. What a shock for us.

We were so glad that we got in to the doctor when we did. He does surgery on Wednesdays so he wanted to see her so he could do it. We were so impressed by him too. He sat down and explained everything to us and even drew pictures. They splinted her arm and instantly she felt better. She should of had it splinted the night before. Poor Rachel.

Wednesday April 20th we went to Mountain View Hospital at 8 AM for surgery. We registered her and waited and then they took her back. She had to get in her gown and surgical hat. They took her vitals and gave her an IV. The doctor was running behind so we sat and watched TV. She laid in bed but Enoch and I sat in comfy chairs in the room and watched TV, Enoch slept with Averien. We met all the nurses and anesthesiologist. Rachel was given a really nice blessing before that talked about everything would go well, that she wouldn't be nervous and that she would heal well. She would be taken care of and in good hands. I asked her a couple of times before surgery if she was nervous and she said she wasn't at all. She said she felt fine.


Surgery was an hour and then after she was awake and well enough we went back to see her. We saw Dr. West first and he said that surgery went really well and that she should heal fine without problems. When we saw Rachel she was sleeping but soon woke up and really soon was able to drink. It was 2 hours after surgery that we took her home. She slept the whole day. She actually slept for 2 days. She was so out of it. She really thought that it was the drugs knocking her out so after 2 days she wasn't on any pain killers and then seemed to get back to normal. She had a nice surprise too. On Thursday evening after her surgery Rachael Adams her best friend who moved away came and stayed for a few days. It helped Rachel feel better too. Rachel still was out of it at times and Rachael would hang out and play the wii with Jacob while Rachel was sleeping. I did feel bad for Rachael Adams at times but she didn't seem to mind. The doctor too said that she couldn't go to school till Monday so it worked out great having Rachael be here.

She was not put into a cast yet. She was splinted on both sides. They want the swelling to go down before they cast her. They wanted to see her back in a week before they casted it.

We went back April 26th for it to be casted. Her arm looked so crazy when they took the splint off. She was swollen at the elbow and had some long sutures coming out of her arm. They stitched her up internally but had a few long pieces sticking out. They removed those and then casted her arm. She got to pick what ever she wanted for her cast. She picked glow in the dark material and then a light blue to go around it. It looked so awesome. I was so impressed with the office doing her cast as cool as they did. It was the PA and med student that put her cast on for her. She has to keep her cast on for 4 weeks and then they will take it off and see how it is. If they keep the cast on too long then she won't be able to straighten her arm after a while. The pins will help it fully heal. She will have to have surgery in September to have the pins take out too. We thought that she would just get them out at the office but they have to go in and surgically remove them. So nice. That means that in one year she will have had 4 surgeries. Wow.


She is so much happier with her cast and loves everybody signing it. The cast totally glows in the dark too. It is pretty awesome. It is a pain though for showering and doing her hair. She can shower herself for the most part but I have to do her hair. She also can't play the piano and really do anything. Luckily it was her left hand that broke because if it was her right she would have been in trouble.

Trip to Provo

At the end of April we had the chance to go to Salt Lake City, Utah for some appointments and then to Provo and Orem to spend the weekend with Grandpa Fisher. We had a lot of fun. The hotel we stayed in while in Provo was really nice. The room was nice and a good size with a fantastic breakfast and an awesome pool. We took Averien swimming for the first time. The hot tub wasn't too hot so she spent her time in there. She was so happy and was going crazy in the water. Rachel didn't like swimming very much because she could only sit in the hot tub and watch everybody else play and get wet. Enoch and Kaelen had so much fun in the water. Kaelen went crazy. He loved swimming with his Dad.

On Saturday we went to Grandpa Fisher's work at UVU. The kids loved seeing where Grandpa worked. He has a pretty fun workplace. They loved seeing the firetrucks and the helicopter on the tower. They were a little afraid of the burned out buildings but were troopers and went inside of them for me. We really loved seeing where Grandpa goes each day for work.