Pioneer Day

We started our Pioneer Day celebration by going with Casey's mom and dad out to lunch to Brick Oven.  We were supposed to have a family party, but Casey was the only sibling that had the 24th of July off work so we ended up just going out to lunch instead. 

After a yummy dinner, we went home and put Mase down for his nap.  Then, Amy and Jared invited my family over for a Pioneer Day BBQ.

We had fun eating delicious hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, cowboy caviar, jello, pasta salad, and the hit of the night--SLURPEES! 

After dinner we relaxed in Amy and Jared's beautiful backyard. 

 

  Soon it was dark outside and time for another exciting firework show.

 

 The firework show was so exciting, that Mason fell asleep:).

 All in all we had a great time spending Pioneer Day with family! 

Utah Lake

This past Saturday, Amy and Jared invited us to go to the lake with them.  We were so excited to go because this was going to be Mason's first time on a boat and his first time to Utah Lake.
We met over to the Hess house and helped load the boat, then we were off to the lake. 
After getting to the lake, we loaded all the kiddies onto the boat, put on their life jackets, and then picked Jared and Mom up at the dock.  Ashely and Mason looked so cute in their little life jackets. 

After picking up Jared and Mom from the dock we went and found a perfect place to swim.  I've never been a big fan of Utah Lake because the water always looks so gross, but after jumping in and feeling how much warmer the water is than Deer Creek, I'm definitely been converted over.  The water was so warm and as long as you didn't stretch out your legs all the way (the water was only about 6 feet deep) you had a great swim. 
After our refreshing swim, Landon and Casey rode the tube. 

 

Then Lydia and I rode the tube.

 

Then Amy, Parker, and I rode the tube.

The weather was a little windy, so the water was a little choppy, so we didn't get to wakeboard this trip...hopefully next time:)

While I was riding the tube our little Mason fell fast asleep!!  I'm so proud of this little guy-He used to not be able to fall asleep anywhere unless I was rocking him, now he can fall asleep anywhere and through anything.

 

 

After we were done riding the tube, we went back to the dock to pick up dad.  Then we went back out on the lake to eat our sandwiches we packed for dinner. 

 

Our day trip to the lake ended with this beautiful sunset. 

 

We had so much fun at Utah Lake.  I think it's even safe to say that Mason had fun!  We're excited to go again.  



Girl's St. George Trip

July 7-11, my sisters and I packed up all our things and 8 kids and headed to St. George.  We have always done this trip in the past, but this year everyone was able to come. 

Sunday, July 7, 2013
We were finally ready to leave Orem, Utah around 4:30p.m.  It was a lot of hard work packing, especially now that I have to pack for 2.  My oldest sister, Amy, drove her Suburban with Stacy, Canyon, Lydia, Landon, Parker and Ashely, while I drove our van down with Myrn, Meg, Mason, Oakley, and Mabel (mom and Lin couldn't stay the whole time so they were coming down tomorrow). 
We stopped in Beaver for a quick bathroom break and to let the kids run around and release a little bit of energy.  Beaver was so windy.  By the time we got back into the cars, we all had little black specks of dirt all over us. 

 

We finally made it to St.George around 10:00p.m.  We had some pretty tired kiddies by then. 

 

Monday, July 8, 2013

Since there were so many of us, we ended up having to stay at 2 different condos.  Our car stayed at my grandma and grandpa's condo, while the other car stayed at Claire's condo (Amy's mother-in-law's condo).  We woke up early and headed right to Wal-Mart where we bought all the food, snacks, and treats you can think of. 

After splurging at Wal-Mart we headed over to Claire's condo, ate breakfast, then quickly put on our swimming suits for our first swim of the trip.   

 Thank you Lydia for helping put sunscreen on Ashley!!

Myrn, Meg, and I took Mason and Mabel back to our condo for naps.  After they woke up we headed back to the other condo for another swim. 

That night we went and got Cafe' Rio for dinner.  After eating dinner mom and Lin arrived.  Myrn, Meg, Mason, and Mabel went back to our condo to sleep. 

 

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

After we woke up and got ready for the day, we headed over to the other condo.  We were surprised to see them all still in bed at 9:45 in the morning!  After they woke up, we made a plan that those who wanted to go shopping could go shopping this morning while those who didn't want to go shopping could take the kiddies swimming. 

Lin, Meg, Myrn, Mabel, and Mason ended up going shopping.  We went to Christensen's and the outlet mall.  

Shopping in 110 degree weather can get very hot and tyring so we stopped and got snow cones.   

 

After our shopping trip, Myrn, Meg, and I took the babies home for naps.  Then it was back to the pool for an afternoon swim. 

That night for dinner we went to Poncho and Lefty's Mexican restaurant, got drinks at Swigs, and frozen custard ice cream at Nelson's Custard for dessert.  Then it was back to our condo again to get some shut eye. 

Wednesday, July 10, 2013
We woke up, got ready for the day, then headed to the other condo.  We got one last swim in before Lin and mom had to head home. 

That night, after mom and Lin headed out, we took the kids to Chick-Fil-A for dinner and then went to the park.  The kids had so much fun making new friends (little Hispanic boy) and playing on all the park toys. 

Thursday, July 11, 2013
Today was our last day in St. George.  We woke up, cleaned our condo, then headed over to the other condo for one last swim.  During our last swim it started pouring rain.  We got out of the pool for a little bit and waited for it to stop.  It stopped just for a few minutes so we hurried and jumped in one last time.   

  After our last swim we went back to Claire's condo and helped get everything packed up and ready to go. 

On our way home we stopped at McDonald's so the kids could play around on the play place. 

We arrived home around 8:30p.m.  Casey sure was happy to see his little family!!
We had such a fun time in St. George.  We are so sad it's already over, but we're already looking forward to next years girls trip. 



Baby Bond

**Disclaimer:  I have nothing against those who nurse their babies!!
I had made the decision that I wanted to bottle feed Mason before he was even born, so when the nurse handed me this darling baby and asked if I wanted to try nursing I quickly said no thank you.  The nurse was very understanding of the decision I had made. 
Throughout my hospital stay I was told by many of the countless benefits of nursing a baby.  I'm not a selfish person, but I continued to stick to the decision I had previously made of bottle feeding my baby. 

Towards the end of my stay a Utah Valley University nurse in training was helping out the nurse who was in charge that day.  When they entered my room and assisted me with the things I needed the Utah Valley University nurse asked the head nurse if she could take to me in private.  The head nurse left the room.  The UVU nurse proceeded to ask me my reasoning behind not wanting to nurse by baby.  I gave her my reasons.  She then gave me her reasons to why I should nurse my little baby.  She told me I was making a horrible decision and that she had 6 kids where she nursed all of them.  She began to tell me of all the benefits, that I had already heard, to nursing a baby and ending with, "If you don't nurse your baby, you will NEVER have that special bond between you and your baby." 
After she left the room, I broke down in tears.  This nurse had no right to tell me what was best for my baby!  The head nurse came back into the room and asked if everything was okay.  I proceeded to tell her what happened.  She calmed me down and told me that my decision to bottle feed my baby was not a bad decision.  She had 6 kids and she bottle fed all of them. 

I've never regretted my decision to bottle feed my little Mason.  Although there are benefits to nursing your baby, I believe there are just as many benefits to bottle feeding.  So, I'd like to say one thing to the UVU nurse that told me that the horrible decision I was making was going to effect my baby's life forever:

Dear UVU Nurse,

At 1:30 this morning (disregard the miracle with his sleeping that I mentioned in my last post, he's woken up every night, at least twice, for the past 5 days.) as I was asleep in bed I was awoken by my little Mason who was starting to fuss.  His fuss soon became a cry.  I walked across the hall to his bedroom where I picked him up, gave him his bink and blank, and sat in the rocking chair to rock him back to sleep.  He looked at me and raised his hand toward my face, as if he felt safe again in my arms.  As I reached for his hand he grabbed mine, squeezed it, and held onto it.  I sat and rocked my precious baby boy for the next hour enjoying every minute of him squeezing and holding onto my hand. 

It was at this moment that I remembered what you said to me when my little Mason was just a new born, "If you don't nurse your baby, you will NEVER have that special bond between you and your baby."  Just so you know, I have created a special bond with my little Mason.  You were wrong!

Mason is 10 Months Old

Today Mason is 10 months old.  I can't believe that just 10 short months ago we were just meeting this little guy for the first time, now I can't imagine life without our happy little Mason.  Here is a little update of Mason at 10 months old. 
Teeth--Mason now has 6 teeth 2 on the top and 4 on the bottom.  This past month Mason got his first toothbrush and we now brush Mason's 6 teeth each morning and night. 
Sleeping--A miracle happened this last month and Mason is finally sleeping through the night, most of the time.  I had literally tried everything including:  bathing him at night, keeping him on a schedule, feeding him extra at night, playing music in his room at night, a nightlight, changing table pad to keep him from rolling around in his crib at night, reading him a bed time story, not letting him nap as long during the day, and the list could go on and on.  We have no idea what it was that finally got our little guy sleeping through the night, so he has quite the night time ritual--but hey we'll do anything to get this guy to sleep!!

Talking--We don't understand a lot this little guy says, besides dada and mama.  Although, we don't understand a word he is saying this guy sure can strike up a conversation with anyone or anything.   
Eating--Mason is venturing into tasting a few table foods.  Besides his baby food, which he seems to love, we have now started giving him a few table foods.  Mason has tried:  spaghetti--not a fan, cheese--loved it, bread--couldn't get enough of it, and jello--loved it. 

Movement--Mason has still not learned how to crawl, but I'm guessing it will be any day now.  When sitting up he can go to the mermaid position, but that's about it.  I guess his chunky little thighs just can't hold up his body weight yet.  He still rolls around and scoots (only backwards) to get around.  Who needs crawling when you can just roll:). 
Other--Mason's personality just lights up the room.  He is seriously the happiest baby I have ever seen.  It doesn't take much to get this little guy laughing so hard he can't stop.  We've noticed he is very ticklish, not matter where he is tickled he always laughs.  Mason is happiest when someone is playing with him or taking to him.  He also loves it when daddy comes home from work--he gets this huge smile on his face and wiggles his arms and legs.  He'll want dad to hold him for 10 seconds then it's back to mom. 

Hair--Mason, according to Casey's mom, has Casey's hair.  No matter what we try to do with it, it ends up poofy by the end of the day.  His hair is also RED, who would of thought a blond and a brunette could make a red head. 

We are so incredibly in love and totally smitten by this little man of ours.  Happy 10 month birthday Mason!!
P.S.  We're celebrating Mason's 10 month birthday by taking him to the pool with some cousins:)

4th of July--My Favorite Holiday

The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday and this year didn't disappoint because...

1.  A couple days before the 4th we had a sisters GNO and painted our toes and nails.

2.  Case participated in the annual Freedom Festival 5K.  He had so much fun I think he'll make it a tradition. 

3.  I got to dress this little guy in his cute 4th of July outfit.  I even got him baby TOMS to match:)  

4.  Thanks to a few family members, who woke up at 4:00 a.m. to save seats for the parade, we had great shaded seats for the parade.  Mason ended up falling asleep through most of the parade.  Maybe he'll enjoy it more next year.  



5.  On our way home from the parade we stopped and got a delicious sno cone.  

6.  We had a great time celebrating the 4th of July at the traditional Crandall family 4th of July BBQ.  



7.  We continued our tradition of tying quilts for Primary Children's Hospital.  

 8.  We ended the night with an exciting, intense show of fireworks at Amy and Jared's house.  Mason slept through all the noise and excitement. 

 9.  Because some of the family ran in the Freedom Festival 5K we didn' make it to the balloons that morning.  So we decided to carry on our celebrating to the next day and go see the balloons. 

 We had a great 4th of July, as always.  We're so sad it's over.