Great Wolf Lodge

This year for Christmas James and I decided to do something we have wanted to do for many years, but haven't followed through with until now. We didn't get the kids Christmas presents. Instead, we let Santa give them one bigger gift and then they picked out one $20 or less gift for one of their siblings. All James and I did was fill their stockings. Stocking stuffers were a little more exciting this year than previous years, which was honestly more fun. I knew whatever I was getting was small enough and inexpensive enough that it wouldn't be adding stress. We asked grandparents to send money to go towards a trip instead of a tangible gift. It was the best idea and we all are so grateful!

We went to Great Wolf Lodge for our Christmas trip! For anyone who doesn't know, it's a hotel with an indoor waterpark and family fun activities like story time, crafts, mini golf, candlepin bowling, arcades, wizard wand quests and this one even had an indoor ropes course and climbing wall! You don't even have to leave the hotel the whole trip. It is our favorite vacation destination, but it gets pricey the more kiddos you have, so it's getting a little more difficult to go. We got adjoining rooms (even though our kids are young enough that we could have easily fit in one room, Great Wolf Lodge doesn't allow it since you have to report every person staying with you in order to gain water park access). The kids thought it was sooo cool to have their own hotel room. There were bunk beds, a day bed, three full size beds and two sofa beds!

We played in the water park all afternoon, got dinner, met Santa, went to storytime and then Brynlee, Brielle and Koda and I went back to the room to get ready for bed while James took Ezra, Makai and Deklan around the hotel on the Wizarding Wand Quest. It was awesome! Then James woke up early, found a highly rated breakfast place nearby and served us with an incredible and delicious breakfast room service. We packed our stuff, loaded it in the car and went back to the waterpark for the rest of the day. We even bumped into some friends of ours from Texas who had moved to Idaho who were down on vacation as their Christmas present as well! So cool!

We all can't wait to go back! The waterslides kept the boys busy all day and Brynlee and Brielle were happy just floating around the lazy river and playing in the wave pool. Koda even took a dip in between naps. We're so grateful to grandparents that helped us make these memories with our kids!

To make Christmas day exciting, we took the kids to see Frozen 2 as a Christmas surprise which was also a blast! It was a great experience all around. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics inside the waterpark. I was a little preoccupied and rarely had a free hand. Turns out Brielle is a little daredevil and literally walked into water up to her chin without a worry, so I had to be on the move the whole time. No real surprise there if you know Brie!

Brielle and Koda enjoying some morning cartoons while the older kids slept in and dad got our breakfast!

Koda enjoyed his very own full size bed.

Inside the cabin area of our room with the bunk beds, daybed and their own TV! 

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Little Miss Trouble

Since Brielle could move, she's been getting into trouble. She is the first of all our kids that we've had to get cabinet locks for. We also have to try to stack all the stools and clear anything off the table, etc. It's a good thing she's cute because she sure does get into mischief. Here's just a few documented instances of mischief. (These do not include the time we found out she snuck outside and was down the street by herself, or the time I found her playing with my knife block on the counter, or the time she dropped my phone in the toilet and Ezra didn't noticed and peed on it. Those moments were far less photo worthy. lol):

Sometimes she needs two breakfasts.

The day she picked out her own clothes and threw a mega fit when I tried to limit her options. She chose 4 shirts, two pants, two rompers (around her waist), and one swim diaper. Yes, we absolutely went out into public like this!

She pushed the stool over by herself.

I used to have breakables in this one. They're all gone now. Not because I got smart and moved them, but because Brielle broke them.

Remember that freshly folded basket of laundry that I left out to put away in a minute? She found it and decided to "help".

A spoon for each because she's demanding.

These two are super blurry, but they still crack me up. She poured out the popcorn bowl and proceeded to lick the popcorn off the rug.

Diving into a mud pit. Diapers are not built for excess mud, fyi..

Constantly shoving all the food in her mouth before someone else takes it. Or taking a bite of each cracker to claim them all. 5th kid problem.

Climbing on everything! This is at the daycare I worked at last year.

apparently we're having a side of Brielle for dinner

Constantly climbing in the tub fully clothed and turning on the water. 

Trying to get out, but it got tricky.

On the counter again, this time tasting the butter

She had a little help with this one. Thankfully it's a dry erase. It was my fault for giving them the idea after I wrote a note to James on our mirror and accidentally left the marker on the counter.

Constantly finding her in the cupboards

When you think locking the door will be enough...

Just finger painting with toothpaste, nothing to see here.

Apparently Zazu was out of food, so she thought she'd help. She grabbed the pepper and poured some dinner for him.

She really is so fun. She definitely keeps me on my toes and is so busy, but I love this age even through all this crazy business!

The Nutcracker

On December 13th and 14th, 2019, Brynlee was in her first ever dance performance. She was a gingerbread cookie in The Nutcracker! They were all just the cutest little dancers and it was a fun, new experience. She's been working hard on her splits everywhere we go. She even tripped a lady who was getting off the elevator because she didn't realize Brynlee was on the ground showing the lady her splits! She's got the fancy dancer thing down and absolutely LOVED getting her hair and makeup done for her performance. Thank you to Grandma Lene and PopPop for making the trip down to come see her :)

 Brynlee is the far right one mid air..

Koda

Koda is the newest member of our family. He was born August 15th, 2019 (the day after Makai's 9th birthday)! He is our little surprise ending. My pregnancy was a super easy one, as was the delivery. It made it hard to say he was our last because I even told the nurse minutes after he was born that I could do that again. She pulled her glasses to the end of her nose and looked at me and said, "In over 20 years of being a labor and delivery nurse, that is the first time I have ever heard that." Lol. It was just peaceful and beautiful to watch him enter this world. Buuuut, my luck ran out about a week after he was born. He started screaming all the time. For like the first 2-3 months he just cried and cried.  Brielle learned to say his name early on, but never said his name without saying, "Ugh, Doda!" That's kinda how we all felt. But then he started smiling and becoming a little happier and life suddenly got better.

There is something magical that happens when a baby smiles and giggles. It brings tears to my eyes seriously every single time. His eyes sparkle and his whole body just exudes joy. I love it.

Koda was born with congenital hypothyroidism like Brielle, but thankfully he grew out of his right away and didn't require medicine. It has required many needles getting blood drawn which breaks my heart, but he's handled it all like a champ.

He has become our second thumb sucker! Brynlee was our first and it was a nightmare to break her of it. The only thing that worked was promising her she could get her ears pierced if she stopped. James says that's not an option for Koda, so we're gonna have to think of something else. Right now, I'm just enjoying the self-soothing and the cuteness of his thumb-sucking.

He is a momma's boy, as every little boy should be. I do love holding him especially because he is usually very content in my arms.

He startles easily, which is kind of a challenge in a house with 6 kids, a dog, and the neighborhood running in and out. He will start to shake and cry with loud noises or shouting. It's the saddest, sweetest little thing. I'm sure he'll get used to the chaos in time, but I appreciate his tender reminders that we need to tone it down a little.

He still wakes up quite a bit at night, but I just moved him into the room with Deklan and he seems happier in there. It's warmer in that room too, so that probably makes a big difference.

I love that the only thing I need to do is smile at this little baby and he will be happy. I just love babies and I'm so thankful to have him!

Brielle

Just look at that face and you'll see why this little girl is our greatest joy. Brielle is 22 months and she is our bundle of life. She is the perfect blend of trouble and sweetness. She loves to explore and get into everything. I don't know what it is about this age, but I just love seeing their personalities come through as they become less of a baby and gain more independence. She is learning and growing in strides and it makes each day feel new.

Brielle was born with congenital hypothyroidism and has been on medication since she was 2 weeks old. She has to get lab work done regularly which is becoming more of a challenge the older she gets. She takes her medicine really well. Her doc said at her last appointment that since we've never had to increase her dose, we can try weaning her off in a year or so and he thinks she'll most likely do fine without medication. I hope so!

Brielle says a ton of words. Her favorites are Doda (Koda, her baby brother), Momma, Dad, Zazu, Ezra, no, yeah, book, appsauce (applesauce), seeping (sleeping), sow (show), and baby. She'll repeat just about anything you ask her to if she's in the right mood. Otherwise she'll hit you with a hard "No!" and move on.

She's done her business on the potty a couple of times, but has been refusing to even give it a try lately, so we're not quite ready yet. As you'll see in a future post, she loves to pick out her clothes, but can't limit her choices to only one outfit per day, so sometimes she wears many. If Grandma is here, Brielle picks jammies all day long.

Every nap and bedtime Brielle has her routine of requests. She needs her binky and soft unicorn, fresh ice water, her fan on and pink nightlight turned on. Then we proceed with a story, then sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Popcorn Popping (complete with hand motions, or you'll have to sing it again). Then she'll fold her arms and wait for you to say a prayer. After prayer I give kisses, brush the hair from her forehead, tuck her in and whisper goodnight. She always yells for me at the door where we then wave at each other and I say goodnight and tell her I love her and then I can close her door. If these steps are missed, she'll call me back in. She's amazing.

She loves baby dolls and is constantly taking care of hers. That includes putting the baby to bed, holding her, feeding her a bottle and then, of course, taking her clothes off. She also likes to give the baby kisses and make me give the baby kisses all day long too.

I can't say enough about this little girl. Her smile, her laugh, her shoulder shrugs and uh-ohs, it all melts my heart and brings me joy. She is seriously a bundle of life and all that is good in the world. I am so thankful to have her in my life.

Brynlee

Brynlee is 5 and is in Kindergarten. She is pretty young for her grade, as are Ezra and Makai. I kinda wish I held her back for academic reasons, but she is so social and everyone kept telling me she was ready, so she started Kindergarten. She loves it. She has a fantastic teacher (the same teacher Deklan had last year, actually!) and she is really learning and growing a lot. She's still not quite where I want her to be, but elementary years are so hard to measure because kids excel at such different rates in different areas. We're proud of her and her growth. 

Bryn is also in ballet this year. She had her first performance right before Christmas which was in the Nutcracker! A separate post to come on that later. She was adorable and loved all the glam. Her next performance will be in May and I'm looking forward to seeing her progress.

Last summer right after Bryn turned 5, she decided she wanted to ride a bike without training wheels. She mastered it in no time and is now a riding pro. She still hasn't mastered the art of braking, but she just rides until she stops. lol. She can be seen riding all over the neighborhood. She visits one friend after the other. I think she thinks she's much older than she is because she already seems to think she's in charge. 

She is still all girl. She loves glitz and glam and tries to sneak in high heels and make up on any of our trips. She just started painting her own nails and she actually does a fantastic job with it. I used to love painting Brynlee's nails, but she got so picky and started ordering me around about how to do it and which colors go on which nails, and it kinda lost the fun for me, so I'm all about her painting her own nails now. She is the same with her hairstyles. I used to be able to do fun and intricate hairstyles, but now she has an opinion and it's usually something more simple because she doesn't like to sit very long for me anymore. 

Brynlee sleeps on my floor almost every single night. Even when I start her in her own bed, I end up stepping on her on my floor at some point in the middle of the night. She says she gets scared and she just likes to be close to me. Hard to fight that.

Brynlee can often be found twirling, riding her bike, or talking to herself in front of the mirror. She is a lot of fun and surprises me daily with her bravery and her determination. This girl is a leader and I hope I can channel all that energy and leadership in the right direction! She's still my little bestie and I am so thankful to have her in my world. 

Deklan

Deklan just turned 7 and is in 1st grade. His teachers always love him and say what a joy he is in their classes. He's quite a bundle of everything. He's my most empathetic kid and also my biggest stinker. He'll break your heart and then make you feel like a million bucks all in the same day. He is making leaps and bounds in reading and he is very good at math. Deklan got glasses last year and is the cutest little dude in his glasses. He loves soccer, riding his bike and playing video games. 

Deklan loves to make people laugh. He can be so silly sometimes just to get a rise out of his friends. He has a really kind heart and a love for our Savior. He gets excited about little things and really thrives off of physical touch. He loves to snuggle or have my rub his back.

He is very strong willed and determined. If he sets his mind to something, he will see to it that it happens. This is a great thing, but can also be a great challenge if my mind is not set to the same thing as him. We are trying hard to channel this into a really good thing for him. 

One day he came up to James and said, "Dad, if I'm really good for a whole week, can I get a Bey Blade?" He had been asking me for one for weeks and I kept telling him no. This idea was brilliant. James agreed, but also thought there was no way he could behave perfectly for a whole week. Well, he did! He proved to himself and all of us that he can control his behavior. It was amazing and showed me just how incredible his strong will can be. 

Deklan recently had a friend move to a new school and he asked me to get her address so he could write her a letter. His letter was wishing her well in her new school and hoping she was happy. Then he included his only $2 for her. I love his heart.

He also loves babies. I think out of all my kids, Deklan likes babies the most. When Ezra and Makai moved out of their shared room to the guest room downstairs, Deklan had a moment of sadness thinking he would be left alone, but I quickly told him that they moved downstairs to make room for Koda to move into his room. He got so excited and decided Koda needed to be moved into his room that day. I told him this means he has a great responsibility to be a good example and a kind brother to Koda and he loved that. 

He is still one of my hardest kids because he struggles with hyperactivity and aggression still, but I see more and more of his tenderness and pure heart the older he gets and I am very proud of him. He has so much goodness in him. One day Deklan had been talking to James about the signs of the second coming of our Savior and he started to feel scared. On his own, he decided to say a prayer. He told us that he received an answer telling him not to worry and that he would be ok. What an incredible example of faith he is to me. 

We sure love this little tornado and we're proud of the wonderful kid he is.

Makai

Makai is 9 (and a half) and is in the 4th grade. He is Mr. Storyteller. He is a lot like his dad in this way. He tells stories that go on and on forever. He even has never-ending dreams that he can't wait to tell you all about in the rush of the morning routine. His stories are always filled with excitement and usually some sort of fear factor. For some reason, he loves scary stories, but he is also the biggest scaredy-cat. He can't sleep in a room alone, go downstairs in the dark alone, or take the trash out when it's dark out. I tell him all the time that he shouldn't be so into scary things if he gets scared so easily, but he can't help it. 

One night recently he started screaming for me. I came in to see what was going on and he was sitting on his bed shaking. His voice was slow and trembling as he said, "It was me. The statue was me!" Then I told him it was a bad dream and he went right back to bed. He didn't remember any of it the next day.

Makai is stuck right between major stinker and instigator and biggest sweetheart in the family. He loves to get a rise out of his siblings and he is always picking on them. Though, on a good day, he is gentle and kind and goes all day long asking me what else he can do for me. Makai feels love the most through quality time. If he feels seen and important then he is an incredible joy to be around. I love that about him. 

This year Makai has two teachers. They are both amazing and we're thankful to have them. They both told me they agree that Makai has some significant attention issues going on in class. Since Makai isn't an overly hyper kid, I didn't really see it, but I think they're right. He is forgetful and less responsible, but I feel guilty discipling him for this because I really think he can't help it. I don't want him on medication though, so we're trying to figure out options. One thing is for sure though; if he's interested in it, he'll give you his undivided attention. I think that's amazing.

He is super creative and artistic. He loves to draw and sketch and imagine. There are always papers floating around our house or car with his pictures and he can often be found with a pencil and a stack of paper in tow. His favorite topics all involve fantasy; super heroes, dragons, etc. 

Makai is our little collector. His favorite thing to collect is rocks, but he also loves sticks (think walking sticks, weapon sticks, magic wand sticks). He also collects different items that most of us would think are pieces of junk like broken stakes, bottle caps, bent paper clips, etc. He's so funny about his items, but I think it just fuels his creativity and imagination. Kind of like a cute little boy version of The Little Mermaid. 

Makai has the cutest little laugh and absolutely loves to wrestle with his dad and siblings. He is also the first to cry and needs to make sure everyone knows he's upset when he does. 

We love Makai so much and we're excited to see him discover his potential as he figures out more about the world around him. He's gonna do some amazing things!

Ezra

Ezra is 11 (and a half) now and he is a great blessing to our family. He is responsible and independent and still very helpful. He is in 6th grade, which is middle school, and has been placed in a couple of advanced classes. I honestly couldn't even tell you what his greatest subject is because he's just good at all of them. It must've been all those Dairy Queen Blizzards James would get me when I was pregnant with him ;) But, unfortunately, we have entered the years of mom feeling dumb because I can no longer help him with his math homework. Thankfully, Grandpa Johnston has come in handy once or twice and James seems to remember more of 7th grade math (his class does 6th and 7th grade math at the same time), so James is able to help on the rare occasion that he needs help.

Ezra is the oldest, so he has more responsibilities, but he handles them well. He has started babysitting for us for shorter periods of time, which is soooo helpful! He still refuses to change diapers or wipe noses though, so we don't normally leave him with the babies. He loves his siblings, but he has a special connection with little Brielle, which just melts my heart. He has been wanting his own room since we moved to Arizona and he lost his own room, but with 6 kids and 4 rooms it just wasn't going to happen. However, for Christmas we moved Ezra and Makai to the downstairs guest bedroom so we could make room for Koda in Deklan's room (Ezra, Makai and Deklan were all in one room this past year!). He loves to have a little more space and freedom. Thankfully he is normally very trustworthy with that freedom.

He also just joined the group of cool kids with a cell phone. We caved earlier than we planned because there were too many times this past year that James and I found ourselves wishing he had a phone (especially now that he's babysitting for us), so Santa got him one this past Christmas and we agreed with Santa that it was time.

Last year Ez was able to be his school's mascot for their pep rally and assemblies. It was a really fun experience for him. This year he has been asked to come back to a couple times this year to be the mascot again. It's the perfect thing for him because he can be totally goofy and he doesn't get embarrassed because no one knows it's him.

He still plays piano. I love hearing him play. His favorite thing to practice is his speed, but I just love all the songs, even the slow ones. He tried out for the Jazz Band in school this past year, but the two spots were given to two 8th graders. He's practicing and hopeful that he might make it next year! Since he didn't get into Jazz Band, he decided to join regular band and is now doing percussion. His teacher has him mostly on the xylophone since he can read music and it's similar to the piano. He normally gets very nervous performing, but at his last band concert, he was confident and poised. Many of his fellow percussionists were looking to him to make sure they were doing things right and he would give a nod, or redirect them. It was awesome to see.

Ezra's favorite sport is still soccer, though James and I did talk him into playing flag football the 1st quarter. He absolutely hated it, so I don't think there are any more flag football games in our future. We're still trying to convince him to get back into baseball, but it's the same quarter as track, so he has decided to do track. I miss watching him play baseball, but he doesn't love the sport, so I'm trying to accept that he may never play again. He plans on trying out for soccer this quarter. Fingers crossed that he makes the team!

This new year means that Ezra is now in Young Men's (the youth program at our church for ages 11-18). With that change, he gets to receive the Aaronic Priesthood which allows him to pass the sacrament in our church and prepares him for the Melchizedek Priesthood which will allow him to give blessings and bless the sacrament. He is so excited for this next step in his life and he continues to stay true to his baptismal covenants and prepare for a mission for our church when he turns 18.

Last summer we took the kids to Rexburg, Idaho and toured a little of the BYU-Idaho campus where James and I both went. Ezra told us at first that he wasn't interested in going to BYU-Idaho, but after touring the campus and seeing how beautiful it is, he has drastically changed his mind and is looking forward to that as an option for him for college.

Ezra has done really well since we moved to Arizona. He has a wonderful group of friends complete with secret handshakes, a secret language and a matching shirt schedule for each day of the week. His friends are great boys and we're excited to see them grow up together.

We sure love this sensitive, loving and crazy leader in our family. Life wouldn't be the same without him. He really is a mother's blessing and I adore him.