McKay's blessing

Warning, none of these photos have been edited.  It got overwhelming with the move and the baby that I took pictures but just couldn't bring myself to do any editing.  So these are not perfect, but they are at least here.  McKay was blessed on June 1st (Unlce Billy's birthday).  We had lots of family in the area join us for this special day.  We borrowed Julie's blessing outfit she used with her two boys and it worked perfectly.  So Kristi and I took some quick pics before the festivities.

 Then we went to the park with the whole family and had luncheon before the blessing.

 We are officially a family of 8 now that Randy was back with us for good.

 Love these boys of mine!

 That evening we celebrated uncle Billy's birthday and were surprised with a goodbye cake.  

Easter 2014

To start this post off, you know how Randy graduated a long time ago. . .like right before Masie was born?  Well during his last year he started looking for a new job.  As much fun as BYU is to work for, he wasn't happy there and wasn't able to utilize his skills.  Don't get me wrong, we are so grateful for our time at BYU, it helped him finish his Bachelor's degree and get his Masters, it kept us afloat for so many years but we knew it was time to move on.  Over the last 2 years, there have been many interviews, some job offers, many close calls for us to move on but things just never panned out.  He was given blessing that there was a job being created for him and I kept praying for the right job to come along and that when it did, there would be no doubt in our minds as weather or not we should take it.  After the beginning of this year, I told him that maybe we should take a job searching break till this baby came.  I wasn't really in the mood to move either a billions years pregnant or with a newborn (trust me I've done both) so he kept looking but kind of laid low not really pursuing a ton of stuff. . . and then it happened!!!!! Like a ton of bricks!  The right job DID come along and there was no question of weather or not we should take it.  

Here's the quick version:  

The company that moved us to Utah back in December of 2006 and then laid him off  4 months later almost to the day (which gave us Utah residency) called him on a Wednesday in early April.  They interviewed him on Thursday and Friday and then flew him out that next Monday to Indianapolis to give him the chance to see what he would be facing and letting him decide if he wanted to take on the challenge.  He stayed till Thursday and by Friday morning had a job offer on the table.  He then gave his 2 weeks notice to BYU (which wasn't a big deal cuz everyone knew he was looking to move and encouraged it).  He was to start on the day after Easter, work for two weeks, fly home in time for me to have the baby, stay home for 10 days and then fly back to Indiana till school was out to pack us up and head out.  It was a crazy 8 weeks to say the least.  I was very stressed wondering if he was going to make it home in time for the baby or if I was going to have to do it alone, or beg someone to help me during the labor.  There were so many unknowns and things I couldn't plan for and I hated it.  My only saving grace was that the company was going to move us so I didn't have to pack a thing, HALLELUJAH!  We did try to dejunk as much as we could during his 2 week notice and then once he was gone I did nothing hoping that the baby would cooperate and stay in till he got home, which he did and I will do a whole `nother post on that. . .trust me!  Anyway, so Easter was our last day with him till he started his new job.  We decided to head up one last time to Grandma/pa's and celebrate with them.  We had a lot of fun, and Masie discovered the sandbox for the 1st time.  She was in hog heaven.

 She pretty much lived in there except when she saw the Easter candy.

 As you can see here.  This is before the egg hunt.  We were hiding eggs and she was following behind "finding" them very quickly.  

 We let the babies go out first and have a crack at egg hunting, at which point they got bored and headed back to the sandbox. . .

 and the swing set. . . 

 while the older kids had a shot at it.

 On Sunday we went to church and took a couple of shots before we had to take Randy to the airport and say goodbye for 2 weeks.  This pregnancy really was not kind to me as far as weight gain.  Probably cuz I was so sick that all I did was lie around.

 Then we tried to get one of the kids and grandma but the only way Masie would cooperate was if she was actually swinging so this was the best we could do.  Hey, it's a picture. . .with the kids. . .and grandma. . . you can't ask for much, lol.

It was a short weekend, but fun nonetheless.  

Kristi's Home & Happy Thanksgiving!

The Friday before Thanksgiving, Sister Tucker arrive home from her mission to Des Moines, Iowa.  We have all missed her so much and are so grateful for her service these past 18 months.  The whole family (including Rob's from San Antonio) went to the airport to meet her off of her plane.

 There were so many other families there waiting to meet their missionaries.  I think we counted between 10-12 huge groups waiting just like us.  Here she is ready for the biggest hugs ever.

 Everyone was sooo happy to see her

 especially McKenzie.  We didn't realize she was going to have this kind of reaction, but it was soo sweet.  She really missed her aunt.

 We found out that one of the reasons there were so many people waiting for their missionaries, is Des Moines sent home these awesome servants at the same time.  

 Kristi's MTC companion who went to West Virginia (I think) also arrived at the same time, so they got to see each other again.  Her name was Sister Tucket.  How crazy is that?

After we were done wiping our eyes, we went out to lunch to a diner in Kaysville.  It was really yummy, way too much food, but soo good.

 These were the babies that were born while she was gone. (Well technically,  Felicity was born about 1 month before she left, but Kristi has not seen her grow).

 The cousins had so much fun playing together, sometimes a little too much fun.  Holy makeup batman.

 That weekend was really busy getting ready for Kristi's homecoming and Bacon's baby shower.  She came down for a wedding on Adam's side and her MIL wanted to throw her a baby shower while she was here around a lot of family so I hauled the Tucker girls to see her and help her celebrate her new, upcoming arrival.  One of the games was to make a baby out of playdough for Bac to judge.  Alina and I won 1st and 2nd (I kicked everyone's trash).  Alina's was very cute, but mine just had that "I'm her sister" factor to it.  I gave it an umbilical cord and it was anatomically correct. (for a girl).  She busted up and didn't have to look any further. :)

 We went home for the week so the kids could finish their last few days of school and Randy could work before we headed back for Thanksgiving.  I (because I'm me) didn't get anything from that  except a couple of Masie enjoying the baby swing she once loved so much.  Kendra and I stayed home one evening to watch the kids under 8 so the rest could go see Savior of the world.  Being pregnant and having seen it before, I opted to let those who hadn't yet seen it go while I lounged on the recliner and bribed the kids with movies and popcorn.  I'm a good babysitter I tell ya.

Masie was in heaven rocking about.  The funny thing is she is still light enough to be in there.

After it was all over and we had to get back to reality, it snowed for for 2 or 3 days straight dumping about 10 inches on us.  It was beautiful. . . 

 but I don't like long storms.  I like it to dump in a day or less and then melt off the streets so I can get back to my normal life.  This was in the middle of the storm, we had to shovel a few more times before it stayed off.  

Baby Announcement

We wanted to be a little creative when we announced to our friends about our upcoming arrival.  I had seen this done somewhere and thought it was really cute and easy so we went with it.  There were so many great shots of Masie that we decided to make it into a progression kind of a thing.  

Happy

Seeing the "notice"

Looking a little concerned

 Then Bam, the realization of it all.  It was priceless, aren't we horrible parents.  Well, either way, this baby is coming weather she wants it or not, lol.  It will definitely be an interesting transition. 

Ya, I'm getting older, so what!

I just don't really want to talk about it, I am not enjoying this thing called age. . . probably because I feel like I'm getting older.  Oh well, it has to happen sometime I guess, right.  I am a very practical person when it comes to gifts and this year Randy did not fail me.  I got something I really wanted for the kitchen.  This, as stupid as it may seem is a cookie scooper.  My last one broke and I really miss it ( I know dumb, hu) so Randy got me a new one and couple other practical things, cuz he luvs me, :)

 What birthday would be complete without some goofy kid pics.

 I received some really old silverware after my grandma passed away, a lot of it is mismatched, but it's something to remind me of her.  Randy spent the afternoon cleaning and polishing and them up for me.  What a sweetie!!!!

 I didn't care what kind of cake I got as long as it was chocolate and I didn't have to make it.  This is what Randy found at Costco.  It looks chocolaty enough for me, lol.

 Man look at those candles.

The best birthday present I received was this one.

I took a test on my birthday and it finally came back positive.  I had take 2 other tests that came back negative which didn't make sense since I was really late.  This little baby just wanted to make my birthday that much more special.  He/she will be arriving beginning of May, gender coming soon :)  We are all so excited to have another special little spirit join a family.  And for those of you who think 6 is a lot. . .I'm from a family of 9, 6 is nothing!  Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

Stadium of Fire 2013

Somehow I score 2 tickets to the Stadium of Fire this year and when Randy went to redeem the tickets they asked him if he wanted to buy the loner seat next to  us for $16 which we couldn't pass up so we got 3 tickets.  After much deliberation, and a little bribing, we decided that I would take the 2 older girls.  This year they had Cirque Du Soleil, Carly Rae Jepsen performing and Kelly Clarkson headlining this year. I've never really wanted to go in years past because they've always had country singers performing, and we all know how I feel about that, so this was a perfect year to get tickets (especially since 2 of them were free).  The girls were really excited, I really think McKenzie thought she was going to meet Carly and Kelly.  It was a hard reality to face.  

We were in the nosebleeds so we watched most of it on the jumbo tron.  But we were right next to the stage so we had a good shot of everything.  There was a competition a few months ago to decide who was going to open for the concert.  It came down to a girl in our ward who has an amazing voice and this group called "The Strike"  who ended up winning.  We were sad for this girl, but this group was really good as well.  The ironic thing is that the trumpet player in this shot is one of Randy's student employees.  So we knew someone from both groups, so it wasn't a total loss.

There was some parachute jumpers that came in with smoke on their feet and one flying the American Flag.  It was pretty cool.

Then there was the Stadium of Fire Dancers (which is a culmination of a lot of different dance studios in the state)  They had some fun dances. . . 

especially this one where they danced in this over sized slinky.  It was pretty hilarious.

Then it was time for Cirque Du Soleil.  Always amazing. I could watch them for hours.  I just can't believe the stuff they can do

Then Carly Rae Jepsen came on.  I'm still not sure who the girls were more excited to see.  Her or Kelly.  I've never really gone to concerts and you could tell my girls hadn't either.  There were girls screaming, singing and dancing everywhere and then there was Mak and Morg.  Just sitting quietly.  They'd sing every once in a while but there was some pretty hysterical girls near us.

Then Kelly came on.  She is just and amazing flawless singer.  Oh and btw she is getting married.  Lucky fella.

Then the fireworks shot off at the end of Kelly's performance right behind the stage and we were sitting right there.  It was loud and hot and crazy.  I had heard that they set them off there, but I was thinking it was more like on top of the stadium, but no they had them set up right on the end zone bleachers.  The bigger ones were set off in the track just south of the stadium, hence the name Stadium of Fire.  We left before the end, I hate traffic and Morgan was getting sick, probably from the smoke of the fireworks and maybe a little dehydrated.  

All in all, it was a fun experience.  I don't really need to ever do it again, but if I score free/cheap tickets, I'd go again.  Maybe I'd make everyone bike next time :)