My Life

My life is full of little moments that make me smile, laugh or feel very grateful. I just wanted to write down a few of these moments...so I can keep smiling, laughing and feeling grateful for them for years to come!

A few weeks ago Ashlyn asked me if I would play fairies with her. While pretending to be fairies, she decided we both needed names. I asked her what she wanted her name to be and she responded, "I'll be the yellow snow fairy." It would probably make more sense if I explained that her very favorite color is yellow and she was being a winter fairy. But it really was too funny!

Last week for family home evening we were talking about the scripture in Matthew about, "In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." I started the lesson by talking about birthdays and what we like about birthdays. I then related it to how we celebrate Christ's birthday at Christmas time and how it would be neat if we could give him a gift. Ashlyn immediately chimed in that of course we could give Jesus a gift. She said, "All you have to do is get a present, wrap it, and tie a balloon to it so it can float up to heaven." She was totally serious as she said this. That definitely wasn't the point I was trying to make, but it sure made us smile.

Tonight for part of family night we watched Mr. Krueger's Christmas. I don't think there are many things that will get you in the true Christmas spirit more than that show. I was so impressed by how much it touched my kids. Tanner mentioned that he always wants to take his wallet with him when he goes places so that he can give his money to people who need it. Hailey asked me if an old homeless lady that we saw in Salt Lake last March might still be there so that we can help her. These little comments kept popping up all night. Later tonight Tanner brought his letter to Santa up to me. He typed it up a few weeks ago but we haven't gotten around to mailing it yet. I'm sure glad we haven't because tonight after the movie he decided to revise it. At the bottom, he penciled in, "P.S. The number 1 thing I want for Christmas is for all the lonely people not to be lonely."

Feeling Blessed

I have a journal that I keep of the little miracles and tender mercies that I see every day in my life. Most of the things I write about are too personal to put up on the internet. However, I do want to include this experience so that I have it in my blog book.

On Thursday, since Baylen was home to watch Ashlyn, I decided it was a good time to go to the temple. Several things came up that morning and I kept thinking that I couldn't let them get in the way. I didn't make it to the temple in November and nothing was going to get in my way that day. So, I got ready and headed out. Well, by "nothing getting in my way", I didn't even imagine that category 2 strength hurricane intense winds actually just might.

I first noticed something different as I drove up 200 North. There were several semi trucks parked on the road. I thought it was strange but really started questioning what was going on when I turned on to the on ramp and had to squeeze between AT LEAST 25 semis parked on both sides of the on ramp. If I would have been smart I would have realized that something was wrong and backed off the on ramp. However, I drove through the semis and onto the freeway. It took me a whole 3 seconds to realize that my life was in serious danger. The wind was more intense than I had ever experienced in my life. I didn't know whether I should stop right there (like many other vehicles were) or try to get to the next exit. Terrified, I decided that I needed to get off the freeway, so slowly I drove on. I made it to the next exit but then realized that I didn't know what to do next. The winds were even more intense on the off ramp because it was higher and totally unprotected. I knew that if I tried to cross over the freeway, I would blow off the bridge to the freeway below. As I was stopped, waiting for the light to turn green, I think I experienced one of the most terrifying moments of my life as the mini van in front of me was rocking back and forth on the sides of it's tires. I could feel that I was doing the same. I called Baylen in a state of panic and asked him what I should do. He confirmed what I already knew... I needed to turn left and go across the bridge to the other side so that I could take the back roads home. To say that I was beside myself would be an understatement. How was I going to cross that bridge and live? However, a few seconds later I had a prompting that I should turn right. I had no idea where I was going but I turned right and somehow made it into a neighborhood. I thought I'd be a little more protected there. As I looked around, I was in total shock. It seriously looked like a hurricane had gone through. All of the fences were scattered in streets, every stop sign I passed was bent in half, most of the houses had all of their siding torn off and there were countless huge uprooted trees fallen everywhere. I assumed that I would be trapped on the west side of Farmington for several hours. But, another little miracle occurred when my mom (with the help of map quest) was able to help me find a way to get home. As soon as I got home I immediately turned on the tv to learn that I was in Farmington at the exact time that the worst winds were pulsing through there. I saw video of flying signs, branches and power lines. The building that I was stopped next to had one of those huge construction trailers blow away. My mini van is way lighter weight than one of those and I feel really blessed that I wasn't in the same situation as that trailer or dozens of other semis, cars, and mini vans that were tipped by the wind. That area was actually declared as being in a state of emergency. I know that I was inspired to turn right. With as bad as the destruction was on the west side, the east side was so much worse. I feel like Heavenly Father really protected me and helped me know what I should do to get home safely.

They canceled school on Friday because of all the damage. They also had us go home early from church today so that the guys could go help clean up from the damage before another huge wind storm hits tonight. Pretty crazy stuff!

When I grow up, I want to be just like my children

Any outside reader will have to forgive me when I share something a little more personal than the normal "what we've been up to" post. I don't really have individual journals that I keep for my kids, other than this blog. This is, in a sense, our family history.

I just wanted to share a conversation that I overheard today between Tanner and Mickell. They had no idea that I was eves-dropping but the conversation brought tears to my eyes.

I guess I'd better give a little background. The past week has been very emotional for our family. Last week Emily and Dave's precious little baby passed away. Two days ago an amazing family in our ward had a tragic accident in which the dad died and the mom is still in critical condition. We've been pretty close to this family. Sasha (the daughter) was one of my laurels and Baylen was able to work with the dad in scouts. We have truly been heart broken for Emily and Dave and the Seegmillers.

Last Sunday we participated in a family fast for my uncle (who is going through a huge trial right now with his health) and Emily and Dave. Today our ward fasted for the Seegmiller family.

I know how hard it is for my kids to fast and so I decided to leave it up to them whether they did or not. I told them about the invitation to do so each week and then didn't say anything else to them. Today after church Tanner and Mickell were deciding if they wanted to keep fasting through lunch or not. Mickell mentioned that she thought she would break her fast and eat lunch. Tanner then said,"I was going to break my fast, too. But, then I thought about how hard it would be if I lost a member of my family. I also thought about how sad Emily looked when Macie died and I want to keep fasting to help them."

I was truly touched by his faith and love for these people we love that are suffering so much right now. Both Tanner and Mickell decided to keep fasting... even though being hungry is a really hard thing for them. My children are such an example to me and I learn from them everyday.

The Perfect Example

So, a while back I posted about what a kind, sensitive kid Tanner is. I mentioned that Tanner thanks me for everything (which seriously makes me so happy). Well, I have the perfect example now of the fact that "everything" does in fact mean "everything..."

While driving home from the doctor's office yesterday, Tanner very sincerely says to me, "Hey mom, thanks for taking me to get a flu shot!"

It was all I could do to focus enough not to drive right into the median when I heard that.

Mind you, all of my kids did fantastic. Not one of them complained or cried once. In fact, when I picked them up at school, Hailey hopped in the car saying, "I'm so excited to get my shot."

I'm pretty sure this isn't normal. But I'll take it any day!!! I sure love my kids!

Fall Break

This year for UEA we had originally planned to go to the cabin. When we found out that my cousin asked to use it, we considered St. George. However, we decided that we didn't want to spend the money in gas to go down there to swim at the hotel (which is what my kids like spending the majority of their time doing on "hotel trips." So, we decided to make the long journey (one hour) and do a little vacation down in Utah County. We actually spent one of the days at home doing fun stuff around Kaysville. We saw Smurfs at the dollar theater and got our favorite gelato at Harmons. Thursday night the kids requested that we do a fondue night. We had a great time and ate way too many sweets!

On Friday we headed down to Utah County. Our first stop was Trafalga. Our Pass of all Passes includes a season pass to Trafalga. So, we spent the entire day there for free. There is so much to do and we took full advantage of the fact that we could do it all. Here are pictures of a few of the things we did.

When we were completely exhausted, we headed down to Orem. We drove around showing the kids our old apartment and different places that we loved when we were down there. It brought back so many amazing memories. Baylen and I both decided that we would live those years of our life again in a heartbeat. We miss happy valley!

We then headed to our hotel where we spent the night swimming. I forgot the life jackets. So, Hailey had lots of practice swimming. I guess I've never really given her the chance to practice because the life jackets are my security when I take the kids swimming by myself. I was really impressed at how good she is. She could swim around the whole pool with no problem.

That night we also played a few card games and ate popcorn. As the kids were going to bed, we told them that they could ask us any questions that they wanted. They asked us a lot about when we were kids. It was fun to just lay there and talk and laugh together.
In the morning we went swimming again for a few hours. The pool was a perfect temperature! Then we packed up and headed to Provo Canyon. We went to Bridal Veil falls and then Vivian Park.
We spent a lot of time at Vivian Park when we lived in Orem. It was fun to take the kids back. While we were there the girls played on the playground and Tanner and Baylen hiked to the top of the mountain. Literally. It was a super fun weekend!

Fall Fun

We have had some absolutely beautiful days this fall. We have been trying to take advantage of those days by spending as much time as possible outside! We were lucky to have an almost hot October day one Saturday. So, we decided to head to J&J's. J&J nursery does a free hayride out to their pumpkin patch each year. Everyone that donates a can of food, also gets to choose a pumpkin for free. We had a lot of fun despite the fact that by the time we got there, most of the pumpkins were pretty picked over. We had to hike quite a ways out to find some good ones. Then, since Baylen wasn't able to come, we struggled to get all the pumpkins back to the hayride. It was quite the ordeal but we made it! Here is a pic at the patch. I didn't take very many pictures for obvious reasons (I was attempting to carry up to three pumpkins at a time :)

Ashlyn and I were also able to go on her preschool field trip to Black Island farm. We love that place!!! Ashlyn was in heaven because of all the animals. When I was able to pry her away from the goats and turkeys, she also had fun on the slides, bounce house, train, corn maze, hayride and swings. It was fun spending the afternoon with her.

Ashlyn and her friend Landon
Ashlyn and Hope
Her favorite part...

You Can Find ANYTHING On the Internet!

The other night the kids and I were all hanging out in the loft. I was on the floor folding laundry and the kids were playing computer games. Ashlyn was watching Hailey as she played. At one point I guess Hailey was getting frustrated that she couldn't figure out how to open the door in the game. Ashlyn responsed by saying, "Hailey, just go to www.how-do-you-open-the-door?.com." I had to laugh at how far technology has come since Tanner and Mickell were Ashlyn's age. They had no idea what the internet was and now Ashlyn is convinced there is a web site for EVERYTHING!!!

This picture is of Ashlyn and her preschool pet Peanuts. She loved bringing it home for her turn and especially had fun dressing it up in a little pumpkin costume that she wore when she was a baby.

Our View

Baylen's been having a lot of fun with our new camera and photoshop! Here is his latest masterpiece.

This is the view directly to the west of our house... like a stone's throw away. Yup, it's the land that is all over in the news lately. It makes me so sad that sometime in the future this beautiful field will be a highway.

Adventure is Out There

Today we were able to go to Bergan and Kara's baby Tinsley's blessing. It was a great day! After sacrament meeting, we had a luncheon at the park. Here are a few pictures that Baylen took there...

Ashlyn LOVES Mindy! She didn't leave her side from the second we got to church until the second that Mindy had to leave.

Here is my beautiful new niece! She definitely has the "Sillito look" doesn't she?!

After the lunch we went to check out the "UP" house. This house was built in the neighborhood right next to Bergan's. They built it as an exact replica of the house on the Disney movie "Up." It was one of the houses that was part of Parade of Homes and now it is a model home. They said that during the Parade of Homes, the builders even put balloons on the top of the roof. The kids were so bummed that since it was Sunday, it was closed and we couldn't walk through the inside. The house is for sale. $400,000. Think we should buy it?!

I'm just sticking this picture here for now because someday I'm going to make a page of the many faces of Ashlyn. I don't want to forget to include this one :)

Rise and Shout

Actually, there wasn't a whole lot to rise and shout about... unless it was in anger. BYU was embarrassing. Oh well, the party was fun!

We decided to snap a quick picture before heading over to our BYU/Utah game day football party at the Hintze's house. Matching clothes always calls for a picture, right?! The picture needs a little cropping because we had cute Mickell take it, but I'm not sure how to use our new computer to do it. So this is what you get :)

One exciting note... I just updated our summer post and I'm now OFFICIALLY CAUGHT UP ON MY BLOG. I'm not sure if that's ever happened before- time to celebrate by starting my blog book!!!

A Happy Birthday!

Hailey turned 7 on August 30th! She was super excited for this day because it's the first year she's decided to do a friend party and she couldn't wait!

She started out the day with breakfast in bed. She wanted pancakes (which we made into a 7, eggs, and a drinkable yogurt.)
She spent most of the day at school. Baylen and I did, however, check her out to take her to lunch. On the way to the restaurant, she mentioned that she wished she could eat lunch at school because they were having Chinese food. Sometimes you can't win :) She decided to go to Golden Corral and we had a lot of fun.

We started her party right after school. We went to Classic Fun Center and did the Bounce Zone and Pirates Cove. We also had pizza and cupcakes! The kids had a great time. They went non stop for 2 1/2 hours. Some of them even chose to skip eating so that they wouldn't have to miss out on play time. They were all beet red and dripping in sweat by the time we left. It was nice going in the afternoon because we were the only ones there for most of the time. Other than 2 bloody noses and one kid throwing up (luckily his mom wanted to come with us so she was there to take care of him), the party was a success!
Yes, Hailey has A LOT of friends that are boys. Should I be nervous that boys like hanging out with her so much?!After the party we were in need of some definite down time. We came back and watched Rio and then opened family presents.

Hailey wanted a lamp for her birthday. So, one day I took her to Hobby Lobby to choose the lamp she wanted. She's holding the tag in this picture because she was so so excited that her lamp was made in China. She told everyone that she got a lamp made in China. She's pretty proud of it. I didn't have the heart to tell her that that wasn't necessarily a good thing :)

We also got Hailey this tent. I thought it would be a fun thing for the kids to play games, etc in when we go camping!
Here are a few things about Hailey at 7...

Hailey is such a sweet generous little girl. She is always giving... even if that means she doesn't get any of whatever she is giving away. We gave Hailey a bag full of candy for her birthday and she gave most of it to the family as we were watching the movie. I'm so grateful for her selflessness. She is such an example to me that giving really does make a person happy!

Hailey is a really good friend. Kids are naturally drawn to her. It seems like there is always someone at our door to see if she can play.

Hailey is really good at tumbling. She's only been taking lessons for less than a month and has already moved up a level. She really loves it. Her life revolves around how many more days or hours there are until her next tumbling class.

We sure love our Lou-Hou!

Mini Explorers Preschool

Ashlyn started her second year of preschool the first week of September. The two weeks before that were really tough for her. She was used to having tons of kids to play with all summer and now everyone was at school. I felt bad because I loved playing with her. But, there were still things that I needed to get done during the day so I couldn't give her all eight hours while the kids were at school. Needless to say, she was super excited when preschool started and she had a social life again!

We actually ended up getting "first day of school" pictures of her on two different days. This is the picture that we took right before her preschool open house...
Here's her backpack with all of her favorite princesses...
Here she is before her first class day...

We have Ashlyn taking at Mini Explorers Preschool. It's a lady in my neighborhood that teaches it so it's super close. Ashlyn LOVES it. She goes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The four days between Thursday and Monday that she has to wait to go back about does her in. She would go all day every day if she could.

I've been reading a lot about the pioneers lately. It made me realize how interesting little facts are that I don't always include in my journaling. So, for posterity sake I wanted to include the price of preschool. We are paying $85.00 a month for her to go 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hours a day. She also eats lunch there. It's actually a very reasonable price for preschools around here. We paid more for Hailey and she didn't each lunch there. It's crazy, though, to think that I'm sure some day someone will read this and be baffled by how cheap preschool was back in 2011 :)

School Days

These pictures are of the kids on their first day of school. We had a great summer but they were excited to go back. I'm so glad that all my kids love school so much.

Here's my second grader! The poor girl was really not feeling good. I went back and forth all morning as to whether to send her. Even though she felt awful, she wanted to go so badly. How can you miss your first day of school? I decided to let her go. I did a whole lot of praying during the day and she came home saying that her day was great. What a tender mercy!!!

Here are my fifth graders! 5th grade... that's getting up there. Tanner and Mickell were both so excited because they have the best teacher in the entire school this year! Mickell also ended up with two of her best friends in her class (besides Tanner, that is!)



Poor Kell ended up sick on the second day and had to miss. It was a rough first week.

I just wanted to include an e-mail that Tanner and Mickell's teacher sent home to Baylen and I so that we have it in our blog book. I'm so proud of my kids. They are such amazing little people!

Hi Alison and Baylen,

I just wanted to take a minute to tell you how darling I think your two children are. First of all, Mickell is such a sweet child, and her willingness to do her best is apparent, and I know she will get her far in life. She puts so much thought into all of her work. We had our final map due this week, and she was the ONLY child that took it upon herself to plan out her week and make sure she had it done by the deadline. The kids who spend more time making sure their work is quality work, were tending to be slower on this project...expected, of course, but I still needed to put a due date to it. Mickell planned out her week and took it upon herself to get it done. Huge responsibility bones points to her. Many kids didn't have it done today, but Mickell's is done and done BEAUTIFULLY!

Tanner, is just funny. He has a certain vibe that surrounds him, that just makes people want to be his friend. He has been a HUGE help to me. We have the learning center children integrated into our room. This is new to me, and I have depended on the children that know these kids to really "AMP" it up. Tanner has gone beyond the call of duty. He is helpful, patient, and a good friend to these kids that need that special help.

You have done a fabulous job raising your two children. They know appropriate behavior for the appropriate time. They are funny and goofy when they need to be, yet when it is time to buckle down and get serious, they are right there being the first two of the class to be a great example.

You deserve a pat on the back, and thank you so much for supporting all three of us!

"M" Line

Mickell has been wanting to get a hair cut for a long time now. The only problem is

that her dance teachers wouldn't let her cut it until after her recital in May. At that point, I decided that she might as well wait until right before school so that it would be new and special for school. She decided that she wanted to do something drastic like an A-line. Ashlyn told her that she couldn't get an A-line. She would have to get an M-line (for Mickell). I had to turn my head when the stylist made the first cut. She chopped a ton off!

I didn't plan on taking the camera to the salon. When I saw the pile of hair on the floor I wished I had my camera. Then I remembered that it was in the van. How lucky is that?!

So, here she is getting the style finished up...

Here is the end result... I think she looks so much older now. I love the style!

And here is the pile of hair on the ground. It was an inch or two shy of being enough to donate for locks of love, but there was still a TON of hair!

It's a First

We've decided that you can never get enough of the cabin... it's impossible. So, when Baylen ended up with a week off the first part of August, we decided to head up to High Valley again. We tried talking several people into going up with us, but it didn't work out for anyone. So, we went alone. We know so many amazing people (family and friends) that we NEVER vacation with just our family. I honestly don't know when the last time was that we did. This is the first time we've ever been up to the cabin with just our family. I had a few people in the Whipple clan ask which way we liked better- being there with everyone or being there by ourselves. Honestly, the two experiences are so different that they don't even compare. They are both amazing. We did miss the extended family but enjoyed spending more quality time with our kids, too. It was definitely strange that Baylen and I slept downstairs and all of the kids got their own beds. It was also strange to all sit around the outside table for meals.

Here are some of our adventures in High Valley...

Of course we spent a fair amount of time out on the lake. The lake was actually very clean this trip!

One day we set up a little restaurant for the kids. We made menus and Tanner was able to be the waiter... quite the amazing one, I might add...

We spent lots of time with these huge bubble blowers that I brought up...

We also made slime! Lots and lots of hours were spent playing with slime. We even got grandma Betty addicted to it!

We went on a few longer ATV rides. We found that as long as we went on flat road, the kids are still small enough that we could ride three people on each ATV...

One day we drove to Sage Hen Reservoir. I didn't take any pictures... probably because it was an awful experience. The roads were super bad and Ashlyn ended up getting car sick at throwing up all over the van. To make matters worse, we drove around the reservoir twice and couldn't find a single place to get out and see the water. So, we stopped on the side of the road, had a picnic with thousands of mosquitos, and drove back to the cabin. I'm writing about this experience so that we remember to never ever go back to Sage Hen Reservoir.

Another day we drove over to McCall. We took the canoe with us and found a spot on the far side of the lake where you can take a canoe trip down an inlet. The area had a fun sandy beach. So, while Baylen took the kids on canoe trips, I would stay back with the others to play on the beach. It was a really really fun day!

Grandma Betty and Randy were so sweet to come up and visit us one day. We had a great time with them! Ashlyn LOVES Uncle Randy. If he wasn't swinging her or taking her for an ATV ride, she was on his lap. He is so amazing with all of my kids!

On the last evening, the girls and I had fun painting faces. Ashlyn started out with a mustache in honor of Randy...

Later on, while we were on an ATV ride, we found hundreds and hundreds of wild raspberry bushes. We spent a long time picking them. They were soooo good!

I took this picture of Ashlyn because she had a thing with the orange helmet during this trip. She wore it all the time. If you notice in the slime picture, she has her awesome helmet and goggles on.

Right before we left, Ashlyn picked me a bunch of wildflowers. She had done it earlier in the week with Uncle Randy but I think she wanted to make sure I had some to take home with me. So thoughtful!

Here are our bear pictures. I wanted to post a few from our little photo shoot because I think they show what crazy, fun kids I have!

The following pictures are some of the scenery pictures that Baylen took while we were up there. I want to include them in this history because they truly represent the amazing beauty that we are surrounded by every time we are able to go to High Valley.






I'm so glad that we were able to take this trip. We were able to spend such amazing quality time together as a family. I know that we are closer because of it. We had so much fun together!