Grandma Willardson's 80th Birthday Bash

Happy 80th birthday Grandma Willardson! We drove down to Richfield, UT to help celebrate this remarkable woman's life. We had a great time with all of Morgan's cousins and family. Here's a few pictures from the birthday party:

Miriam and Charlotte

Erin and her kids preparing to go down the slide together with a very anxious Luke and Nicole waiting for their turns.

Someone had the brilliant idea of renting the slide and bouncy house for the kids to play on during the party. Luke must have went on the slide a hundred times. Thanks for renting these toys!Watch!

Miriam was more apprehensive about the slide and bouncy house, but she loved going down with Morgan. Take a look!

Luke is Iron Man

Luke was able to get his cast off on June 19th. We are so happy that we don't have to bag his arm when we bathe him. He is so happy to be able to play in the hot tub at Grandma's and in the sprinklers.

Here are some pictures of him showing off his Iron Man cast.

Didn't Morgan do a fantastic art job on the cast?

Baby #3

If you guessed a girl, then you are correct...at least at this point. We have another ultrasound in 2 weeks and then hopefully the baby will roll over a little more so that the doctor can get a better look.

1st Ultrasound

I had my first ultrasound this morning. Any idea on the sex? This baby is already so cute. The first thing the baby did on the ultrasound was so raise its arm, grab the umbilical cord and start sucking on it. Then it started to rub its eyes. I think we were interrupting its nap time. So what's your guess?

Our Trek Across the United States

On Wednesday, April 22nd, we said good-bye to Miami and began our week long road trip back to Washington. Our first day was 9 hours of driving. The kids held up better than the adults. I think that we were so tired from packing the night before and getting up early that morning that once we stopped in Macon, Georgia that night, I seriously wondered how we would make the rest of the journey.

We stopped for lunch Wednesday at a park. Super great idea because the kids played hard and then they were ready for food and a nap!

Thursday we drove to Evansville, Indiana and spent the night. Luke found a Pizza Hut with a play area inside and Pizza Hut pizza is now his favorite.

Friday morning we set out to Coralville, Iowa. Morgan's cousin Jordan lives there and we stayed with them Friday and Saturday night. It was so great to rest from travelling and to play with Samantha and Michaela.

Also outside of Coralville is a very historical site that we visited. It is the future birthplace of Captain Kirk. Here's Jordan, Morgan and the kids at the entrance of the site.

What a moment for the Fife family!

"Live long and prosper."

The three little monkeys! Thanks Michalea for sharing your toys and space with Luke and Miriam! Luke and Michaela became instant friends and had a blast dancing and chasing each other.

Sunday morning we set off to Omaha, Nebraska. We stopped there for lunch with Morgan's good friend Mike. Then we headed on to Sioux City, South Dakota for the evening.

Monday morning we started our trip to Billings, Montana. This was the longest leg of our trip. 10 hours of driving!

Tuesday brought SNOW! As we were driving through the rest of Montana towards Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, we ran into a snow storm. We couldn't believe it! At one of our gas stops, the kids got to play in the snow. I just wish that we would have had warmer clothes!

Daddy throwing snow balls at the children.

"It's soooo cold!"

Once we got to Idaho, we found another park for the kids to enjoy after dinner.

Miriam and Daddy checking out the fireman's hat.

Wednesday, April 29th we completed our incredible trip and made it to Grandma's house by early afternoon. Luke said: "Grandma, you live far away." I think so too.

We are having fun at Grandma's house while Morgan prepares to take the STEP exam and then await our clinical rotation assignment. Grandma and Grandpa have really opened their home to us and are so patient with our crazy children. We appreciate it so much!

Maw Maw in Miami

Maw Maw came to visit us our last week in Miami. Here are some of the highlights of our time with her.

We went to Miami Beach and the kids found a playground. Needless to say, that is where we spent the majority of our time that day.

Miriam loved lounging in the chair swing.

Luke liked stepping from each step to the next.
Miriam has finally overcome her fear of slides!

We also spent 2 days at Bill Baggs beach. Maw Maw was so helpful in getting the kids to eat at our picnic.
This beach had the calmest water. Luke hated the beach in Dominica, but the calm water here helped him overcome his fear of the waves.

I loved this view of the lighthouse too at this beach!

Maw Maw and Miriam liked sitting by the shore and playing.

No sand eating this time just playing!

We also took a trip to the Everglades with Diana and Kairi. Here's a baby alligator we saw...they still look scary to me at this size.

Luke and Kairi are great friends. They were holding hands while we pushed them back to the van.

Everyone survived their encounters with the alligators! Yes!

I loved having my Mom visit a whole week with us. She is so funny and the kids absolutely adore her. She even put her air mattress in between their beds so that she could be close to them even at night. What a brave woman. We will get to spend more time with her in October when the new baby comes. We can't wait to see you again Maw Maw!

Arm Update

This morning Luke got the hard cast put on. While the bones looked a little crooked still, the doctor seemed confident that they would grow straight within 6 months to a year. So now Luke will be in this cast for 6-8 weeks. Arrgh! No swimming for us!

Afterwards we went to the Supermall for the kids to play. No cast can stop The Luke! While Luke and Miriam were standing on top of one of the structures an older lady next to me just turned her head and said, "I can't bear to watch that kid with the cast on top of that!" I guess she thought that he was destined for another broken arm by being up there. Anyway, Luke is adjusting well to his new Iron Man arm and trying to be as silly and cute as always.