Grandpa Parsons, I love you

Today my Grandpa Parsons passed away unexpectedly. I am really close to my grandparents Parsons so it has hit me really hard. My grandpa was a great guy. He taught us all how to work hard. He was not a warm guy, but we always knew he loved and cared for us. He was stern and we respected him greatly. He helped me out many times that I cannot repay him for. I have so many fond memories of being with him on his ranch from when I was a kid to when I had kids and brought them over. I will miss him so much and it breaks my heart that he is gone, but I am grateful to know that we will be with him again someday.






Some of my fondest memories of grandpa are:

Riding his horses on his ranch from when I was little to my kids riding with him

When we were little, he would pay us to scratch his back. It started as $1 per 15 minutes, but when we were older $1 per 10 minutes. I would scratch his back 1-2 hours each evening to get as much money as I could.

When I was a teenager, I would go and stay at the ranch for a few days. When I was driving his jeep one day he got mad that I didn't use the blinker.....we were in the middle of nowhere and there were no other cars around!

He and Grandma came to Utah for Christmas when I was at BYU. I drove my car home and he followed to make sure I was safe. He bought all my gas and food and even gave my gambling money for stopped in Mesquite.

He bought me a fire escape ladder when I lived in Provo in an old home and my room was on the 2nd story. He was always making sure we were safe

He BBQ'd at my wedding reception. He brought over his huge BBQ and did all the meat. It was delicious and I was so glad he came.














Trent went to work on his ranch with him and got Poison Oak really bad. My grandpa NEVER got poison oak and the one time Trent went to help, it was terrible





He always had Zigfried above his front room wall for as long as I can remember

And was always very organized...from his ranch and barn to his cowboy hats and boots

 I Love you and will miss you Grandpa!!!!

4 month check up

The babies had their 4 month check up and vaccines today. They are both doing well, but still small for their age so they are keeping them on the high calorie formula. Jackson has a bit of Excema and Madison has the beginnings of a flat head, but nothing to concerning.






Jackson - weight is 13 lbs and 24 inches

He is in the 6th percent for weight and height in his age group...but 56th for his head size. So this small kiddo has a great big head.

Madison- weight is 10lbs 10 oz

She is so small that she is not on the charts (for a regular 4 month old) for her weight or head circumference but keeps getting closer to the 1st percent line

Here they are before the appointment all ready to go!

Four LONG months

The twins are now four months old. It has been a long four months. They still wake up every 3 hours during the night. Madison is very even tempered and mellow and a really sweet baby. Jackson is a firecracker and keeps me on my toes. He is very cranky and wants constant attention, but has such a fun personality and makes us laugh at his funny expressions.  Even through the long tired nights, constant feeding, changing diapers and crying, we cant imagine not having them in our family!

 

A hard few weeks

After we sold our house, we had 30 days to find a new one. We have been trying to find a house close by, with four bedrooms and a little more space, but nothing has fit us very well. So, we finally decided that we will build. We picked out a builder, met with the architect and loved the lot. The day that we were suppose to sign, Trent came home from work early and said that they were doing layoffs and paycuts. He was getting a pay cut....enough that we didn't feel comfortable going ahead with building a house. We had 2 weeks before our house sold and we get that news. So the last few weeks, we have been packing, cleaning, looking for new jobs and for temporary rentals.

We were able to get the house empty and clean with the help of my mom,  awesome friends, and ward members. Bailey had a hard time saying goodbye to the house and didn't want to leave it. It was emotionally draining week.

Luckily my parents live in the valley, so we decided to temporarily move into their house while we decide what to do. We can still buy a house on Trent's paycheck, just not as nice and big as I would like. Or we can rent for a bit until he gets a better job or his company's work load picks up and then buy so we can get a house that fits us better. Or, we may end up moving away somewhere to get a better paying job. So we are waiting it out a few months to see if we have any other options and go from there. By the end of summer we have to have some stability for the kids and will just rent for the year.

Even through all the craziness, we do feel blessed. We know that it was a blessing this happened the day we were supposed to sign with the builder. For whatever reason, that was not the path we were supposed to take. We are grateful that he was not laid off like others at his work, and that he still has a decent paying job. And we are blessed to have parents that will allow us to stay with them until we know what we plan to do.



Here Grandpa Davis is singing to the Babies (and Bentley) and helping calm them down so we can pack and clean

After school on Friday, I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese to get their minds off things and have some fun.

And Bailey got a mother daughter night out to Ross and do a little shopping.

After church Nick had  a blast riding his scooter in his church shirt, undies and rubber boots with his cousins.

So far, I think we are all adjusting pretty well.

Babies Blessings

Nick and Madison ready to go to church

 

Today the babies were blessed at church. We were grateful that Trent's parents were able to make it, along with his sister Traci and her family and our friends the Belnaps. 

Jackson is happy and ready to go

The crew- Bailey Family (Brandon, Traci, Hobie, Piper, Gage, Paisley) , Matt, Mom and Dad, Melissa & Trent, Bailey, Nick, Madison, Jackson, Gary& Terry, Kayloni, Kazlynn, and Ashleigh with Lexi

 

 

 

 

 The babies were relaxed and out of their church clothes...now time for lunch with family and friends

 

Happy Birthday Trent

Trent turned 34 this year and Bailey wanted to give him a fun party. We went to the party supply store and picked out a hunting themed party with a pin the bullet on the deer game. We then finished the night with take out Chinese food and watched a movie

 

Bailey oversaw the party planning and decorating and wanted to dress up for the occasion, so she wore her party dress. She did a great job!

But, the thing that Trent wanted to do most for his special day was to go shooting and try out his new gun. So when his parents came into town this weekend for the babies blessing, they watched the kiddos so Trent could take me to the shooting range and teach me how to shoot.

Happy Birthday Trent, We love you!!!!

Happy Easter

Easter was pretty low key this year. It was suppose to rain on Easter Day, so my mom decided to have us come on Saturday to do the Egg Hunt and Dinner.

Here  is our baby bunny Madison

Bailey, Nick, Madison and Jackson

The cousins

 

 

And yes, it started raining just before the egg hunt, but the kids didn't care and wanted to hunt eggs anyways

Their loot from the egg hunt- Seems they did pretty good




Easter Day was really mellow and relaxing ( except for crying babies :) We stayed home Easter day snacked on Easter Treats and watched general conference.

Spring Break

Bailey, Nick and cousins (Aaron & Sunny) flying kites at grandmas

We had a lot of fun over spring break. We had swim lessons at the YMCA every evening, played at parks, and flew kites at grandmas.

Nick loves swimming and is a little fish when he gets in the water. His teacher had to keep telling him to stop swimming around and listen to her talk. :)

 

 

Bailey is starting to get more comfortable with swimming all on her own.

 

 

 The biggest adventure was that we sold our house!!!! Within a month of listing, we got an offer and now have only 30 days to be out and find a new house. It has been quite a ride trying to keep up with things, but I am hoping that when we get into a bigger place with more bedrooms and hopefully a bigger backyard, that we can have a more relaxing summer. Luckily my mom has been helping a ton so that we can keep the house cleaned, babies happy and still find time to do fun things with the other kids.

 

 

Nick is still loving on the babies all the time

 

Our silly picture of what a crazy family we are!

Our (sometimes) sweet baby Jackson at 3 months

 

 

 

 Grandma helping with the twins

Happy Madison at her 3 month checkup