Spray Hose

This is Avery given the power of the hose. Way too funny! "Come 'ere mom, come 'ere!"



And this is me all wet...

White/Pastorik Family

What a blessing it is to be a part of such a wonderful family! We are growing and growing! Here are the group pictures from my family reunion. We had almost the complete gang: Out of 2 parents, 8 kids, 7 spouses, and 19 grandkids, we were only missing 1 spouse and 2 grandkids. The couple on the left side are my parents; the couple on the right are my aunt Kay and uncle Randall (mom's brother).

This is the core: my parents and siblings. Front row: Dad, Mom, Donna (1st), Karen (6th), Laura (7th), Bonnie (8th). Back row: David (4th), Steve (3rd), Ben (5th), Louis (2nd).

Slurpy!

funny

Avery's just so funny. My new favorite phrase is: "ooooh, SLURpy!" which means: Slippery. She says it with such expression as if to say, 'you better be careful- it's slippery!'

Next favorite phrase: "Oh, man!" She says it just like Swiper does on Dora. Hilarious!

I'm amazed with that girl. She catches on to things that I never even try to teach her. Today she:

• Put away the stroller to it's rightful spot in the garage.
• Randomly takes off Aspen's hat when we're inside and takes it to her room.
• Washes her hands in the church bathroom while effectively dispensing the soap and turning on the water which is mostly out of her reach- all while I'm detained.
• She tears off a tissue (TP) when she needs to wipe her nose or clean something.
• She identifies trash, shows me, then throws it away immediately while finding the nearest receptacle.
• Yesterday, I decided to see just how much she could help around the house by picking up. She obediently put away everything I asked- and she knew exactly where they went. I've decided I can hold her more responsible for this chore from now on!
• When Aspen cries in the car, she requests a binki or toy for the baby and will try to calm her.

This girl is a jewel.

strangers

My other girl is a darling too. I think I'm spoiled! Plus, I'll admit I like the attention from strangers who can't help but stop and sweet talk to my little baby. I always like greeting strangers and this makes it easier; the most common greeting I get is "wow, you've got your hands full..." Ha, yes. Though I only have two (and relatively angels at that), I still consider taking a toddler and infant to the grocery store to be a feat... so thanks for noticing or at least finding a way to greet me.

motherhood

Motherhood is truly a feat. It's like climbing a long upward hill. It takes constant endurance and can get exhausting at times, but the key is to look around you as often as possible to soak in the view because there's joy in this journey. Your 'pay off' is not just in the end- it's all along the way. I'll be first to admit that I see the glamorous and care-free things that others get to do without kids and get down or impatient. Being a mom means I need to take ownership of my role and remember why it is that I chose to be a mother. There's no more glorious a calling. Other things can wait. I chose this road because of what it would do for my character- so obviously there will be a struggle. However, my pay-off is the greatest of all. Not to mention, I will have a beautiful posterity. I love my children like crazy. I can't believe they're my own. I'm glad I have a family. I'm glad this is the plan.

Aspen 5 months

First time with rice cereal

That's my happy girl! She loves to smile, laugh and talk baby talk. She's extremely alert and will watch things closely, and sometimes stare at you. She blows bubbles with her lips and sucks on anything she can get her hands on- fingers being her favorite. She'll gnaw and chew with enthusiasm with licks and slobber and drool. She's got a really strong bite, too! No teeth have broken through yet. She can roll over now, but does get stuck. She sleeps well, only waking up once or twice per night (I'm lovin' that). We sure love our baby blue eyes.

Vacation!

We've been gone for 10 days on vacation, and boy did we make the rounds!

The ultimate destination was my family's reunion in Island Park, ID, but we visited other friends and family along the way. :)

Day 1: Drive 10.5 hours overnight to Provo, UT. It went exceptionally well! Avery just laughed and talked half the way down; Aspen slept. At dusk we drove through long winding passages midst tall, layered green mountains and wooded farm land valley. Just beautiful!

Day 2: Stayed and visited with our friends, Russ and Adri, in Provo! Jenni and Jared joined us for dinner at Brick Oven and we went to the playground. :)

Cleaned up after a long drive

Jenni, me (and Aspen), & Adri at Brick Oven

Katelyn and Avery playing together

Day 3: Church with the Lees. Drive to Sandy, UT for my nephew (Benton's priesthood ordination and dinner! Drive 4 hours to Twin Falls, ID to Brian's parent's house.

Day 4: Hanging out with Brian's family in ID. Went to Shoshone Falls where the water was GUSHING!

Avery on the Wii

Fun on the tramp

Avery loves Ace

Ring around the Rosies (Avery and Briley) with Aunt Jess

Quality time

Avery likes to drive

Day 5: Drove 4 hours to Island Park, ID for my family's reunion! Raining, raining. Lots of excitement and settling into the large cabin we rented.

The big crowd getting ready to eat

The dark hairds (Tyler, me, Mckenna, Shayla, Benton)

Day 6: Visited Mesa Falls, picnic, picked up my nephew (Tyler) from BYU-Idaho and hung out at campus. Dinner and Family Slide show at the cabin.

The new mini conference center at BYU-Idaho

Day 7: Big breakfast. Rainy day- relaxing and games at the cabin. Playmill theater in the evening to see "Disney's High School Musical." We love those live theaters! We indulged in fudge and ice cream during the show- oh yeah.

Day 8: Yellowstone drive. Picnic lunch there. Brrr, it was cold! Lovely scenery and wildlife.

A cute pic of mi mommy & daddy

My bro Louis with Savannah

Good times with the cousins

It's not Yellowstone without these guys

Day 9: Drive 3.5 hours to G&G's house in Ogden, UT. Visit, relax.

Grandpa Great

Grandma Great

Day 10: Drive 11.5 hours home. Avery did super well again; Aspen had it more rough, and Brian and I both got sick and threw up. He was doing that all night long, too. We're happy to be home again.

We don't know what Avery will do now without all her cousins ("friends" she calls them); she knows all of them by name! We had a blast! I feel like my kids have grown up so much over this short vacation. Aspen was dazzling with all her smiles and cooing and awareness; Avery is constantly becoming more mature.