The passing of an extraordinary man

Christmas break has been nothing like I expected it to be. Unfortunately Blake's grandpa Palmer has passed away and he is having such a hard time understanding what's going on. We arrived Sunday afternoon, Dad was breathing and responsive to touch, he had breakfast that morning in a matter of hours things took a drastic turn. His breathing became heavy and accelerated, he had a fever and looked really paled, seeing him like this his children gathered around him and gave him a blessing, it was the sweetest blessing I've ever heard. Even though Dad had his eyes closed tears filled his cheeks. He was placed in bed, next to his sweetheart, that same night two hours later, he passed during his sleep. His sweet wife laid by his side until his very last breath. Not wanting to disturb any of her children, she laid by him until the next morning when we finally got the news. Dad is gone she said. Tears filled my husband's eyes as he recalled the amazing father he was blessed with, "I will never be able to fill my Dad's shoes, he was an extraordinary man" there was a feeling of sadness and emptiness in the air but at the same time there was peace. After battling Alzheimer's disease for over 13 years Dad was finally free and in a better place. Blake loves his Grandpa, he laughed with him, he cried with him, and had lots of fun with him. When he finally saw him in this state he kept telling people shhhh Grandpa is sleeping and He can't wait until he wakes up again. We love you Dad, you will truly be missed. Melekalikimaka to you!




http://davisclipper.com/view/full_story/16846001/article-Roland-Palmer?

Ava

It's about time I did a post about my baby girl. It only took me 8 months haha.
Ava loves to play peek a boo. She is crawling, standing up, rolls all over the place and her favorite thing to eat is ritz crackers :) we will thank her brother for introducing her to those! She hates baby food, she would take a bite out of a cheese burger if she could, she LOVES real food like the real deal, manly food. Her favorite person in the world is Blake, she chases him around and just laughs with him all day long. She's got big time separation anxiety, although it makes it a bit hard for me to go places I love that my daughter is close to me. I hope that closeness carries on in the teenage years :) We love you baby girl, you are such a happy, sweet, content, precious baby. Your Daddy melts every time he sees you smile and as much as he complains about you having a million bows and dresses, every time he sees you in them he can't stop smiling and telling you how cute you are haha. Love you baby girl!

Half Marathon

It all started with an idea that was given to me by my very dedicated, super sporty, awesome, running friends haha. You should run a half marathon with us. My first thought was haaaaaaaaaaaa YEAH RIGHT!!!! are you kidding me! me running? bwaaaahahahahha and then I was like ok let's give it a try. Well I started training and the first mile was a pain, the next 3 miles were still a pain but suddenly I was loving it! I just fell in love with the sport I had hated for so long. Being outside in nature, the different trails, the great company and support from my friends, the new challenges, pushing myself every day. Eventually I ended up with a bruised calcaneus and a trip to the ER cause I was pushing it a liitle too hard so I did have to take 2 weeks off but who careeeeeeeesssssssssss it was worth it!!!! so totally worth it! The day of the race came and I was soooo stoked about it. Loved the environment, loved the people I was running with, it was soooooooo fun. The half was in Lancaster PA (Amish town) it was just sooo beautiful and the weather was perfect! I don't know how many times I heard you got this Sus, you're doing great, almost there, hills are your friend, then the last two miles I just wanted to walk but my friends pushed me and knew I could do it and yep we did it and it was fabulous :) It felt great! Blake started chasing me to the finish line haha it was the best! I for sure couldn't have done it without my running buddies. I'm so greaful for them. Can't wait to do it again!

One Year down

So our first year of dental school here in Philly has come to an end. I can't believe how fast time goes by. We came to Philly with our little Blake, not knowing anyone or what to expect and I'm happy to report this has been one of the most memorable years of our lives. We added a little person to our family, we have made such great friends, we have held callings that have helped us serve and get to know LOTS of different people, I have really enjoyed bow making with the girls, our little bachelorette nights every Monday, the smiths playhouse http://smithkidsplayplace.org which is this free awesome place for kids, the park visits, girls nights, lunches and playgroups at different friends homes. Dallin has been such a trouper this year, even though he had tests, assignments, and other activities he stayed up with me every night to help with the baby. I feel like one lucky girl :) I'm looking forward to many more fun adventures to come....Bring it Philly!!!! Now off to 2 months of summer vacation!!!
Here is a preview
First Stop Ocean City..New Jersey

May in Review

What a better way to celebrate mother's day than to celebrate it with your mom right? After 3 longs years my mom was able to come to visit and be part of Ava's birth and baby blessing. I don't have enough words to express my gratitude for my Mom and all the things she does for me. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to have a special bond with my mom. Even though we live in different countries and we only see each other every three years, we are still the same crazy Mommy & daughter & enjoy our time together. Since my mom was here, we decided to bless Ava before she left. Dallin invited some of his friends to be part of the circle. I was stressing out cause since most of you know, I have a little baby and fitting her in any dress is quite the hassle. I actually found the dress at target & I just bought a little onesie at Old navy, and tataaaa!!! it totally worked. Dallin gave Ava a beautiful blessing, Ava was just chilling during her blessing and surprisingly didn't make a sound. One of my friends wrote the blessing down so I could translate it for my mom & keep it in Ava's journal. I thought it was very thoughtful and a great idea, it didn't even cross my mind. My mom was so happy to be there and felt the spirit strongly. Later that night we had a little gathering for Ava's blessing and everything turned out great. What a special day!

Newborn Photoshoot

A couple of months ago one of our friends took some pictures of little Ava & he did an awesome job. Here are some of our fave shots...Enjoy!

Ava's birth Story

I have to write this story with as much detail as possible so my daughter knows how chill her daddy was on her birthday. So Thursday March 24th, I contracted all day long. The timing of the contractions varied so I just hang out & had pretty much a normal day. Friday March 25th, I started contracting more and more during the early morning hours. Finally at around 7:00 am they were 10 minutes apart. My husband decided to go to school (that's right Ava Daddy just left) and said call me if you need me haaaaa. An hour later they were 5 minutes apart so I called the doc and they told me to go in. I called my husband at school and he said oh well hunny it's probably nothing. I don't have a car you tell me what you want me to do, I can probably borrow Casey's car. He was super chill AS USUAL!!!! I called my friend & she went and picked my husband up. By the time he got home they were hurting a lot....He goes um I need to shower...yep he had been in the lab so he wanted to be clean....he took his beautiful time & finally we headed to the hospital...We get there, My contractions start slowing down and he goes...they'll probably just send you home hunny & he turns the tv on and watches the price is right as I'm in Pain hahaha. They checked me and I was a 2 he goes this is going to take FOREVER!!! hahaha. Blessed be the resident that was there that day. She came in and told me we are having a baby today. You are in active labour and I'm not sending you home with the risk of uterine rupture and I don't want you labouring at home. They started a small dose of pitocin and broke my water. 3 hours later I told the nurse I felt a lot of pressure and I wanted to push. They checked me and I was a 10....The doc came in and said let's do this, we are going to start pushing...DALLIN WENT FROM SUPER RELAXED, CHILL, THIS IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO HAPPEN TODAY TO....Heck yeah, jumping up and down...Hunny we are having a baby..What do you need me to do? Do I change in scrubs? what do you need? yahoo he was TOTALLY NUTS!!! All the girls in that room were totally laughing cause he was stoked!! AND so after 15 minutes of pushing my baby AVA arrived!!! very little 5lbs 90z, 18 inches long,healthy, and holy smokes can she cry!!!! It was a great experience...I'm so grateful for her. We absolutely adore her & her daddy is crazy about her.

He is 3

I can't believe how fast time flies. This last March my little dude turned 3 years old. He knows his letters, numbers, colors, shapes & is obsessed with cars, airplanes, choo choos & trucks. He loves to be read to, he likes to ride his bike and is into pretending big time. He totally uses his imagination daily. He loves to play with his friends. He makes me smile every day, he says the funniest things ever and I don't know how he even comes up with some of the stuff he says. His latest say was today he got his computer out and told me"I have to study mommy, I can't play, be quiet please" I wonder where he got that one from haha. He is a big helper in the house with the new addition, he ADORES his sister. Life would be boring without my sweet, crazy runner, adventorous, loving, friendly Blake :)
We wanted to do something special for his birthday so we went to the Circus. He enjoyed the circus a lot, his buddy also joined us & he had a blast. There was a little girl sitting behind us @ the circus & she kept playing with Blake's hair, it was so funny, he didn't mind it one bit. Soon after Nonna arrived and on his actual birthday she took him to eat his fave meal @ Donalds as he calls it (nuggies, fries & ice cream) Some of his friends stopped by & played with him. We had some cup cakes & ice cream and it was a good day. We love you Blake....You make my life BUSY!!!! :) but we wouldn't change it one bit!!!




And two days later his sister was born......

March in Review

Well March was pretty crazy a lot happened in such a short time but it was a fun month...One for sure I'll always remember.............First Came Spring Break and we took advantage of it...We went on some trips and here are some of my fave shots :)


W A R N I N G: Do not attempt all these trips at 8 months prego unless you want to go into labor 2 weeks early!!

We went to DC with some of our good friends and we had a blast..We stayed over night to do a temple session and see some sights.










Then we went to Lancaster to experience the best Pretzels ever and check out the cool Amish town...It was sweet!





The next day we headed to the Big Apple to do another temple session and get a break before the husbands had to return to the crazy school life...So it was just us girls which was really fun!









Then came my baby shower....I seriously have the best friends in the world. I am so grateful for all of them and the love and support they give me during this crazy experience...I loved everything about my shower...I felt so loved!!! all this girly stuff every where and all the friends that came really made my night :)





These 3 crazy girls are some of the talented friends that made this shower happen and I had to post this pic cause I love it!!!



Then Came Blake's Birthday and 2 days later our baby arrived but I will give them individual posts cause I have a lot to say about these 2...More to come..stay posted!