Easter 2014

Wow…it’s so bad that I haven’t updated the blog with anything from April or May! When did life get so busy?? Easter was great this year.  We had the Easter egg hunt over at our house with the Greenwoods and DeVauxs.  There were no fits thrown this year for the hunt either, which is a record for us! Elizabeth and Penny were both happy to just be given an egg and try to figure the egg out. The other kids did great at finding all of them in record time. 

We were lucky enough to have Sherrie out for less than 48 hours on Friday and Saturday.  She was out for David’s cousin’s wedding down in Provo. We love anytime we can get with Meme! She went home on Saturday, since it was going to be her last Easter with Austin, who just left on his mission last week.  While she was here, she helped David learn to ride a bike with no training wheels.  I don’t know why it took us so long to teach him…oh wait! David is not a huge fan of trying new things! He is doing great with it now and thanks to Meme got some confidence.  Fun times for all!

4th of July

Alice-Anne, I stole these from your post. I hope you don’t mind.

We had a great 4th of July this year.  This was our first time in 6 years that we haven’t had any family whatsoever with us to celebrate, so we invited our friends over. It was a last minute get together, but it was so much fun. They all thought that I was crazy to have only been home from Arkansas for 5 days and have this many people over, but I told them we were just excited to have so many great friends here to celebrate with and they should consider themselves lucky to make the cut!   We did barbeque sandwiches and hot dogs and then everyone else brought lots of yummy sides and desserts.  It was so dang hot that day! The kids braved the heat though and played outside most of the time. Luckily it cooled down later in the evening and we were lucky enough to watch the kids do a talent show on the trampoline. It was entertaining for sure! We had the Timpsons, Wiggins, Wallaces, Johns and some of their friends, Clint and Natalie, and their cute little family visiting them for the week. David and Clint got along amazingly, since they both talked computer. David was in heaven. We had 16 kids there total including 2 teenagers and 10 adults. I am always amazed how many people we can cram into our cramped kitchen/dining room. 

We feel so lucky to have made so many great friends in our ward.  They really are like family.  It has been 5 years that we have been in this house now and I couldn’t be happier. I go through phases thinking that I want to move into a bigger and newer house that isn’t right on the street, but every time I think about moving I think about what we would be leaving behind and it doesn’t take long for me to change my mind.  Heavenly Father definitely knows where we need to be and has blessed us in so many ways! I never thought we would be in Utah coming up on 7 years, but I truly do love it out here and will be sad someday, when the time comes to say good-bye.  That day isn’t happening anytime soon, but when it does just know it will be hard.

The Little Mermaid in St. George

Maggie, Trish, Gabby and I went down to St. George to see “The Little Mermaid.” It was so much fun. We left Saturday morning and went and checked into our hotel. We did some swimming and shopping.  Then we grabbed a bite to eat. The show didn’t start until 8:30. It was outside.  The stage was amazing. The water would flow onto the stage for the underwater parts.  Maggie really enjoyed it.  It was a pretty long play and it was really late at night. I think we got back to the hotel after midnight. I wouldn’t mind making this a yearly thing for us.

Poor Maggie had a swollen right eye. She couldn’t even open it Sunday morning.  It was still bad on Monday morning so we took her to the doctor and found out that she has some kind of puffy eye syndrome. It’s called blepharitis.  It is not that common, but of course one of my children got it.  Basically, it just makes her right eye become puffy every once in a while and does not irritate her at all.  Poor girl. She is a trooper though.

Other than the eye issues it was a great girl’s weekend.  I am so grateful to have such a sweet little girl to do all these fun things with. She is such a great helper for me and is just a fun girl to be with.

Austin’s Mission Call and more

David’s little brother, Austin, who just graduated in May from high school also got his mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Saturday, June 14th and so sweetly waited until Sunday (Father’s Day) to have everyone over to open it.  It was so neat to be there for that and we were all so excited for him.  We all thought for sure he would be going somewhere far away in another country. We were surprised to find out that he would be going to Las Vegas, Nevada! He was told to report to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on Wednesday July 23rd.  That was just a short 5 weeks away!   Sherrie’s face was priceless, when he said the date he would need  to be at the MTC.  So then the craziness began, with them trying to get things done and ready for him to leave on a 2 year mission for the church.  While he is on the mission, he is not allowed to watch t.v., listen to music (except church music), talk to or see family/friends except on Mother’s Day and Christmas.  He completely devotes all his time to the Lord and helping people find a testimony and be baptized.  It is a huge sacrifice, especially now that the boys are only 18, when they leave on their mission. They put schooling, friends, family and everything else behind them for 2 years and put the Lord first.  Austin was excepted into 2 great colleges and happily told them he would be going on a mission. 

Before he could go on a mission he had to go to the temple of our church and get his temple work done, which is him making special ordinances.  We were so glad that we could be there with Austin for such a special thing. Giselle and Genevieve were also able to make it there for it, so Austin had his siblings there with him, which is so special.  It is such a mix of emotions the first time you go to the temple.  Austin was amazing though and we were all so proud of him. 

Then just 3 short weeks later, Austin, Sherrie and Dave packed up and headed out here to Utah to take Austin to the MTC.  He had to meet with the Stake President before he could leave and be set apart as a missionary and the Stake President was out of town until Friday night at about midnight. So at 1:00 the amazing man, met with Austin and made him an official missionary! We were all so grateful that he did that for Austin, so they could make it out here to Utah sooner.  They got here on Sunday evening around 6:00 and we had until Wednesday with him.  On Monday they spent the day visiting David’s grandma and Grandpa Torgerson and Aunt and Uncle Turnbull and all their kids.  They also got all of the other things he needed for his mission.  He had to pack everything he needed for the next 2 years into 2 suitcases. Crazy stuff!! On Tuesday (which was also mine and David’s 10 year anniversary) Austin spent most of the day studying and then that afternoon at 3:00 we got a baby-sitter for the little kids and went to the temple to do Sealings. We had some family names to do and it was a great way to spend our anniversary! After that we went to eat for some delicious steak and then went back to our house. I made a little video for Austin with pictures of him growing up and little videos of all of the siblings and parents saying good-bye to him.  We were all in tears by the end of the video. It was so sweet to hear what everyone had to say to him.  That night it was hard for Mama T. to sleep and the other two for that fact! By 10:00 the next morning they were all packed and ready to leave. We went and took pictures in the front yard with everyone and we said our good-byes to him for the last time for next 2 years.  Then Sherrie, Dave, and Austin headed off to pick up David from work and go to Provo to have some lunch and just talk before dropping Austin off at 1:30. I stayed home with the kids. I knew that they didn’t need the kids distracting from the last few hours with their baby boy! David said that Austin was very talkative and cracking jokes, up until the end of lunch and then I think it hit him that he was about to leave for 2 years.  He got very quiet.  The went to the MTC and pulled up. An Elder came and greeted Austin (Elder Torgerson) and told him to tell his family good by and give hugs to his mom and dad. Then less then 5 minutes after getting there Sherrie, Dave and David drove off without Austin. 

They went and dropped David back off at work and then headed back to our house.  We had gone out to print off some pictures for them of the last few weeks with Austin to give to them. Poor Sherrie was so sad and for good reason! For the past 34 years she has been a mom and had children at her home with no time to think of herself and now here she is with all of her kids grown up and on their own.  She was doing amazing considering what she was going through.  She is truly amazing!

 

I am so proud of Austin for the choices he has made to lead up to this and how much he has matured in the past few weeks even. I remember meeting him, when he was just a little 8 year old. He was always so shy and quiet around me and it wasn’t until this past year that I saw his personality come shining through and how much he has grown up.  He is going to be such a great missionary and leader to those around him. He has a strong testimony and is going to be great at helping others gain one too.  We are going to miss him so much and it will be so weird without him, but we couldn’t be more proud. Little David has always looked up to him and I couldn’t think of a better person to follow.

Arkansas Part 1

Sorry for the overload of pictures! I drove out to Arkansas on Saturday June 7th. It was my first time to drive out by myself.  I prepared each of the kids their own tupperware of snacks, so they could pick from it anytime that they were hungry.  I also had a backpack full of extra clothes, medicines, diapers and anything else we may need without having to go through all the luggage if an accident happened. It was a huge life saver. I didn’t let the kids drink that much either, so that we could limit the stops we made for potty breaks. They all did amazing.  We stopped every 4 hours the first day and made it to Wichita, Kansas. We had left at 6:00 a.m. and made it to Wichita about 10:00 p.m. and we were so done being in the car.  The GPS had lead us the wrong way trying to find the hotel.  It said to turn left off of the interstate and it would be on the left about 1/2 mile down the road.  It was a completely empty street. Nothing except a warehouse, which is where the GPS kept saying it was the hotel! After about 15 minutes we finally found the hotel to the right of the interstate.  I did learn to have a backup for the GPS after this trip! The next morning we got up and had breakfast and then got on the road around 9:00.  It rained the entire time that we were driving. Not just sprinkling either, but a huge down pour.  I always say I miss the big storms of the south, but not while I am driving.  We got to Dardanelle, Arkansas to David’s parent’s house around 3:00 that afternoon, where the rain continued for the next day.  It was insane how much rain there was those first few days.  The kids were all so excited to see Meme, Papa and Austin! Well all the kids except Lizzy.  The poor thing had here molars coming in and was sooooo clingy to only me! If anyone attempted to come to her, she would start balling.  She was like this for the first week and a half about.  It was so hard!! She had to be near me at all times. The only relief was that she took 2 naps a day and both were about 2 hours long! It was awesome. She also had no problem at all sleeping in a pack and play and sharing a room with me at the different houses we went to,  which was such a huge blessing!! The Torgersons have a huge above ground pool that the kids had been talking about for the past month. They were so excited to go swimming in it. Unfortunately it was FREEZING that first week we were in Arkansas. It was only in the 70s and that made the pool so much colder and it was raining off and on that whole week too. David being the huge fan of swimming that he is did not let that stop him.  He was in that freezing pool every chance he got and just had no idea it was so cold.  The other kids weren’t quite as anxious to get into the pool!   We had a great time hanging out with the Torgersons. They even took the kids to Branson, Missouri to see Jonah  and the Whale. They made a day of it on Tuesday and had the best time! I didn’t want to torture anyone by taking Lizzy to a play, so I went to Bryant, which is about an hour and a half away to see all of my family.  We ate a lot and I spent the night at Pam’s and then went back to Dardanelle on Wednesday.  Then Thursday we headed to my mom and Dad’s house in Hot Springs, which is about an hour and forty minutes from Dardanelle.  We stayed at Mom’s until Saturday and had the best time. 

Throughout the first week Lizzy was throwing up every night in her bed for about 6 nights. It was horrible. There was a virus that went around to all of us. Parker and Ellie (Pam’s little girl) I think got it the worst. Parker couldn’t keep anything down and it started at about 12:00 Thursday night and then until the next afternoon. Poor kid was so exhausted and tried to play at Grandma’s, but just couldn’t do it and ended up snuggling with Uncle Gabe most of the time.  David and Maggie thankfully never did get the throw up bug. I got it but only for about 6 hours on Wednesday night at Sherrie’s.  It really got in the way of our having as much fun as we had planned. 

On Sunday was Father’s day and all the DeVaux’s went to Marji and Jim’s for our celebration.  Mom made brisket, which was delicious, and everyone else brought sides and desserts.  It was so fun to have so much of our family there.  Trish was not getting in until the next morning, but there were still 14 grandkids there and they had a great time together. Not nearly as much fighting as there was 5 years ago, when all the kids were so young. We all pitched in and got a new chair for Dad and Mom brought the cushion for it and wrapped it up. Dad was stumped and had no idea what it was and mom was glad to fool him.  Then that the kids and I headed back to Dardanelle to the Torgerson’s. Austin, David’s youngest brother, got his mission call and was opening it that day.  It was so neat to be there for that special occasion and I am going to write more about it in a different post. 

Sunday night we headed back to Bryant and stayed at Pam’s house. Trish got into town that Monday morning and we went to Larry’s Pizza (a delicious pizza place where they just walk around with so many different kids of pizza for you to eat) They also have an arcade area for the kids to play at, so it is a great place especially for our large group. Unfortunately, Lizzy is at an age, where she wants to be with all the big kids, but I don’t leave her on her own in a public place like that, so I didn’t get to eat as much as I would have preferred. It was still a lot of fun to chat and eat with everyone.  The rest of the week we went swimming on day at a great pool in the area. The kids all loved it and got nice and tired.  We went to Hot Springs and hung out with Mom and Dad and took all 15 kids to MidAmerica Museum on Thursday I think. It was a lot of kids and we got asked frequently what daycare we were with! Then on Friday we went swimming at Lake Catherine. This was the lake we always went to, when we were little kids.  There used to be a dock in the middle of the swimming area, but they took that out. It was a lot of fun to go back there and all the kids had the best time.  Playing in the sand, in the water and having a picnic all made for a great time for all.  Even Lizzy, who usually does not like the pool did love the lake and would just splash around in it. 

             All the DeVaux Grandkids! 15, with 3 on the way!!

We had lots of sister time too.  It was a little difficult without David there and Lizzy was RIDICULOUSLY clingy to me and only me.  Even so, we had some willing Uncles to help out with her! We went and got pedicures one night, went to a yummy mexican restaurant one night and then on the weekend we did a lot of shopping.  It was so fun having all of us sisters together and we are so lucky to have 2 great sisters-in-law that we love to hang out with.  There were tons of laughs and great times the whole time.  Who knew that half of them would be pregnant at the same time!! A fun year ahead of us. 

On Sunday I headed back to Dardanelle, because I was planning on leaving on Monday morning to head back to Utah. The whole time I was driving to the Torgerson’s though, I was thinking that I should stay and go to the temple with Austin for the first time.  He would be going on Saturday and I just thought it would be a shame for me to leave a few days before and for David to not be there.  The thought just kept coming to me, so when I got to the Torgerson’s I called David and told him to listen to everything before he commented.  So I told him he should fly out Wednesday and then he could drive back with me Saturday from Memphis.  To my surprise he agreed! We booked him a flight and then I called all my family and told them that we would be there for a 3rd week! They were all excited…I think.  We hung out with the Torgerson’s until Tuesday, I think. (It was a long three weeks.) Then we headed back to Bryant. On Wednesday night David got in at about 11:00 p.m. That way he was able to get a full day of work in and only had to take 2 days off.  He was happy with that.  Wednesday was a long day! We were so excited for David to come. I think this was the longest we went without seeing each other.  The week before we came to Utah, he was in Idaho for 3 days for a company retreat and we really didn’t see each other that much for a full month.  So on Thursday we hung out with my family at Pam and Micha’s.  David went to get some mexican food for lunch for the brothers and then everyone came over that night and we had yummy barbeque for dinner and visited with everyone. We packed up and went back to Dardanelle that night.  Then on Friday we hung out and tried to swim, but it was too cold! I don’t now where we were, because it definitely wasn’t Arkansas in the end of June.  Saturday morning we all packed up and took the 3 hour drive to Memphis, Tennessee. Molly was sweet enough to baby-sit for us in the church building next door, so that we could both go.  Gabe, Dad and Mom are all temple workers and were working that morning in the temple. Our session was at 1:00.  We got there around 12:00 after driving through so much traffic AND rain  on top of that.  Then we said our good-byes afterwards and thanks Molly and my mom for watching the kids and started our 23 hour drive back to Utah. It was bad traffic and raining for probably 60 percent of the time, but by 3:30 p.m. Sunday we made it back to Utah and were so glad. It was a pretty good ride, minus all the rain, the GPS giving us wrong directions, oh and being in the car for 24 hours! The kids were amazing though and did a great job.  We really only stopped to go potty and grab quick bites to eat.  It was great having David’s help this time.  The hardest time is always from about 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift. Luckily our new van is much more roomy than our other one and a lot more comfy for the passenger trying to sleep. It was great to get home and Biscuit was especially excited to see us!

The craziest thing was that even after 3 weeks I still wasn’t quite ready to go home. I really would have been happy to stay…forever! After being in Arkansas for so long, my thoughts that  I missed home were definitely confirmed and when the time is right for us to move back someday, I have no doubt how happy we will all be to be with so much great family!