Baby Number 5!

On December 20th, 2015, I found out that I was expecting our fifth baby.  I was so excited. It had taken us over two and a half years to become pregnant. To be honest, I had given up hope that we would have one last baby.

On December 23rd, I told Brandon that we were expecting in the Jordan River Temple. It was such a special experience. He was so excited and thrilled.

By the time we came home from our Christmas trip to Utah, I was starting to feel really sick.  We decided to tell our family and kids that we were expecting.

Brandon was taking these pictures below of the kids. For the first picture, he told the kids to smile and say cheese while he took the picture. For the next picture, he told the kids to say, "mommy is pregnant." As you can tell from the reactions the kids were excited and shocked.

We then skyped with our family and held up papers that  had different numbers to represent the birth order of our family.  The kids were really cute and really excited to tell them. Our families were thrilled for us too.

In April, on my birthday, we found out that this last little baby would be a boy! We were so excited. Brandon and I didn't find out in the ultra sound. However, we had the technician write down what gender the baby was in an envelope and I took it to a lady to make cupcakes for us to eat open and find out what the gender was together as a family.

The kids were so excited to find out that the baby was a boy. Even though the girls might have been a little disappointed, the got over their disappointment pretty quick and have been so excited for their new baby brother.

Even though this pregnancy has been really rough and difficult at times for us, we have made it through with the help and love of so many wonderful people. It is easy to see the loving hand of the Lord in our lives.

Also, even though I have been sick, I have been able to push through and make it to everything that I needed to be to.

This baby is scheduled to arrive soon and we couldn't be any more pleased.

My Beautiful "Rina"

My beautiful Lucy started her very first dance class in January of 2016. She was so pleased and excited that it was finally her turn.

She loved every minute of every class. I greatly loved watching Lucy dance. She always had a beautiful smile on her face and it was obvious that she was beyond thrilled to be there.  She loved taking the class with her friend.

We ended almost every class with a donut. 

It was a great dance year for Lucy.

Kangaroo Zoo!

One of our favorite places to go to in Utah is Kangaroo Zoo.

We always have a wonderful time! The kids have grown up going there and have enjoyed every trip. 

Sledding and Hot Chocolate

 One day during our Christmas vacation we went to my grandma and grandpa's house to go sledding!
They have the perfect hill in their backyard!  The kids spent most of the day sledding.

Ben left a little early to head back to the house because he was cold. As a result, I don't have very many pictures of him.

Even Papa came to join in the fun of sledding.

Of course, Grandma had delicious hot chocolate waiting for us when we came in from sledding. It is why my kids call her, "Grandma Hot Chocolate."

It was such a fun afternoon sledding on a beautiful winter day.

Christmas 2015

 We had a wonderful Christmas morning. Of course we said family prayer together.

 Next we lined up oldest to youngest to go out to the living room to see what Santa had brought!

 Once again Emmy asked for blueberries and Santa heard her request!

 Even Lucy got a little jar of blueberries too this year that she asked for!

 Lucy was so thrilled to receive her frozen scooter that she had been asking about.

 Hyrum was in heaven with the books series that he received and loved.

 Ben was so excited to enjoy his Lego City police building set.

 Ben loves stuffed animals! He thought it was pretty cool to receive wolverine, the animal he did his report on in school and a hedgehog.

 Hyrum absolutely has loved his nerf bow and arrow! He still plays with it quite often.

 Lucy loves play-doh! I know this picture doesn't show how excited she is, but she loves it!

 Emmy and her humongous Olaf!

 Emmy was pretty excited for her shopkins too!

 The boys each received a bottle of yummy lemonade from Santa.

 Emmy was so excited to give the things that she had made to people for Christmas!

 Lucy has loved the magic clip set grandma and papa gave her! She still plays with them often!

 The boys received a fun game from Millie and Court.

 Lucy is sporting the beautiful dress that grandma and papa gave her. Lucy loves a good princess dress. The boys are holding up Pokemon cards that Lucy gave them!

 Emmy was pretty excited to receive her own girls basketball from papa and grandma!

 Emmy was so thrilled to receive a volleyball from Millie and Court. She had been wanting one for a long time!

 Ben thought his pocket knife from Papa and Grandma was pretty awesome!

 Hyrum received a nice sleeping bag from Papa and Grandma which will be perfect for when he starts campouts with the scouts. He has already been putting it to good use when we have gone camping!

 We have had many nerf gun battles with these two guns at our house. The boys received them from Brandon and I and absolutely loved them!

 Princess legos! The girls have loved their princess legos!

 The highlight of the day was when the kids realized that their big present from grandma and papa was going to Disneyland again! The kids were so excited!!

 Emmy was so thrilled with her easy bake oven!

 The kids spent the rest of the trip enjoying their presents from Christmas.

 We spent much of Christmas at Aunt Lana's house enjoying her superb Christmas breakfast that she makes! We enjoyed spending the time with our cousins and other family members that day. It was a wonderful Christmas!