Ward Party

A family in our stake owns a family fun center.  For our stake activity we got to go for free!  It was pretty congested but our kids were patient with the long lines.

 I quickly put our score card away after seeing how our kids mini golfed.  Lily's game resembled billiards.

Lincoln in the go-kart.

Rachel in the go-kart.

Ode to the New Couches

We were pretty down hearted about our trusty couches dying.  I was talking to a sweet woman in our ward about our exploding couches and she told me she's just going to donate her old couches so we could have them.  I think they're perfect!  My view could be rose colored because of the price.  We feel very blessed.

Lily Started Preschool

Lily started preschool at the beginning of September.  We luckily met the potty training requirement in time.  Ellie goes to the same preschool but we requested that they be in different classes to avoid conflict:).  Lily has a hard time separating from me but does fine after that.  She's only been reported once for hitting.  I was worried about that.  Hopefully it won't happen again.

It's a Baby!

With previous babies coming fast and large we had the baby all ready scheduled to come October 2nd 2015. Luckily she decided to cooperate with us. Work and home had been busy so it was nice she waited, but it wouldn't have been the end of the world if she came earlier. Melanie's mom came in late the 29th of September, so it was nice to have her the last few days to help Melanie. We went into the hospital and were there by 8 am. They got her all checked in and the IV started. We got there and Melanie was a 4 already, so things were progressing already. They eventually decided to start the pitocin at the lowest dose. Melanie quickly went to almost nothing to very painful contractions. They soon stopped the pitocin and Melanie got an epidural. Now that the pain was gone they broke her water and started the pitocin again. It was about 15 mins later it was time to push. It took about 3 times of pushing during contractions and Little Whitney Marie Danielson joined us at 11:32 am at 21 inches and 9 lbs 1 oz. She is another doll. That night Melanie wasn't up for all the kids to come so we skyped them at home. We had a nice hospital meal together. The nice part was they give the new parents a stake dinner so it was pretty tasty. We tried to sleep that night but they don't really tend to think sleeping is important. Thankfully all the test and things were looking great on Melanie and Whitney so we were able to get out about 24 hours later. It's nice that we're able to be home and actually get some sleep. All the children are excited to have Whitney join our family and Lily is extra excited. It seems like she's been jumping off the walls since we got home. It's always such a special experience to see a new sweet little spirit come here to Earth. We feel so blessed to have Whitney join our family!

Melanie before anything is really hooked up.

Well that was quick. Welcome Whitney!

A little swollen coming down so fast, but looking great.

Whitney and proud Papa.

Whitney and beautiful Mom!

Learning why people actually buy a selfie stick.

Can't get enough!

Rachel and Whitney

All my sweet girls

Lincoln even likes her despite being a girl.

Hannah, eyes on the camera.

Despite this picture Lily is really excited about the new baby.

Grandma Lunt and Whitney

Ready to come home

Kentucky Kingdom

We might add more pictures to this later as all I have are pictures from my phone (Joe). I think Melanie took a lot more, but she just had Whitney and is asleep now. My work paid for everyone and their families go to the theme park Kentucky Kingdom. At the last minute Melanie decided to come with Lily. I was surprised as Melanie was 38 weeks pregnant, but it was fun. For the most part we all stayed together, but she did let Rachel and I slip away a couple times to ride some of the bigger rides. I went on a few too many spiny rides, but overall we had a great time.

Rachel was brave and rode on all the bigger roller coasters but the one that went upside down. I finally convinced her to go on it, but by the time we got over there it was closed.

Lily loved the Merry-go-round. She would have stayed on it all day if we let her.

Hannah thought it was ok to. :)

This was a lame train we rode. It was a nice brake after an extra spiny ride we just went on. Also Lily liked it.

A little selfie with a cute girl.

Three princesses who can almost look at a camera.

Lincoln looking good. This man, unlike his father, really likes the spinny rides.

Melanie got more pictures of them on the rides. For some reason I got a bunch of pictures of them sitting around.

Melanie's Pictures:  

It was my job to hold kids who were too short to ride and take pictures.  I actually enjoyed the day.  Here are the pictures.

 Lincoln's face might have been about right.  It was a pretty lame ride.

 It was really nice when Lily was actually tall enough to ride on the rides herself.

 Almost as good as the ride?  Hannah enjoyed it at least.

 Hannah posing with the park mascot.

 I'm not sure what happened to the child measuring stick to allow Lily on this ride.  It was somewhat intense for her but she loved it.  I stood in-line and switched the kids as each of them had to ride with a grown up.

Lily and Hannah kept busy in the kids zone while Rachel and Joe rode the big rides.  Lincoln was somewhere in the kids zone... 

A pregnant lady can't even ride on this ride.  Oh well...photographer is an important job too.

Happy Birthday Melanie

Melanie didn't have the best birthday this year as she was 37ish weeks pregnant and not feeling all that great. She really is the rock of this family and we are all soo lucky to have her in our lives. Her testimony has strengthened all of ours. Her service is unparalleled. I am truly blessed to have her as a wife and a wonderful mother to our children.

Classic breakfast in bed. I think the kids enjoy bringing it more than the adult enjoys eating it in bed.

A little blurry but 33 candles is a lot. Actually we just did three and three.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife Melanie!

Soccer Time

It's been fun to have Rachel and Lincoln in soccer this year. They are both progressing well. Neither is overly aggressive but they space out well and look for a pass so I'm pretty happy with their progress.

Rachel (9) enjoying her new birthday present a rip stick before one of her practices

Lincoln (7) getting ready for his game. He and Rachel are on different teams but they are both the Galaxy.

Hannah (5) is a good sport about going to all their games and practices. She'll kick the ball around with me (Joe) as well.

Lily (2) isn't as good at practices as she always has to go potty when there is no potty close by. She's still cute though.

Ode to the Couches

These beautiful couches were a blessing to us.  Our neighbor was getting rid of them curbside right as we were moving.  They fit perfect in our new house and in our budget:).  I had to stitch them up mostly in spots that could be hidden.  Recently they've been rapidly deteriorating.  I wanted to take a picture of the set before we have to throw away the ottoman.  It got two holes in the top that I couldn't repair:(.

Visitors

Grandma and Grandpa Danielson came to Visit

We were glad to have Grandma and Grandpa Danielson come visit.  They were very helpful with the party and helping me while Joe was late getting back to town from a business trip.  The kids loved the kites Grandma and Grandpa brought.