Spring Break with the Hogge Family

For Spring Break this year we decided to go visit our friends the Hogges. We met the Hogge family here in Michigan, and after Preslie died they took us under their wing and treated us just like family. They were there with us the day Preslie died until the day they moved to Minnesota. We have missed them so much, and were thrilled to spend the week with them.

Day 1:

We drove 11 hours with only a few stops in between. Arista did really well the entire time, but was ready to get out and stretch once we arrived. I spent half the time up front and half the time entertaining Arista. Sometimes all she needed was her leopard blanky and binky.







Arista loved Brian immediately. When no one else could get Arista to sleep he came to the rescue.



Day 2:
We woke up and went to the McDonald's playland, which was the coolest McDonald's we have seen! After a yummy lunch Erika and I went and saw the new Alice in Wonderland movie while Chris watched the kiddos. Ethan gave Arista her first tattoo on her foot, and she loved it!



That night we had an awesome Family Night about the Word of Wisdom, and the kids all danced for us. It was a hoot! We ended the night watching the movie 2012. It was such a fun day!






Day 3:
This was our favorite day! We woke up and headed straight for the Mall of America! We bought all day passes to the amusement park there. I went on a very rocky roller coaster and had to sit out for a while, but enjoyed watching everyone else go on rides.







We went to their indoor aquarium, and LOVED it. It was so cool to see all the sharks and fish. Arista thought it was very cool.











After a few hours of fun the Hogges left and Chris, Arista and I went to the American Girl store. We purchased Arista her first baby doll. We think they look pretty similar. We can't wait to go back when she is older and make another one. We then went to the Barbie store and found out that it was Barbie's Birthday! They had a beautiful $3 Barbie, so we got one for Megan and Arista. After shopping around for a few hours Brian and Ethan came back for more fun. We rode more rides and were exhausted from such a fun filled day. We ended the day watching the movie "Up in the Air". We cannot wait to go back to that Mall someday. It is a shoppers dream!

Day 4:
We slept in and then went ice skating. Erika is such an awesome Mom, and let her kids skip school to spend the day with us! The Hogge kids are such good little skaters, they made me look like a baby! I held onto the side for a while and then braved it up and held Chris' hand across the rink and back. Chris is a great skater!



After skating Erika, Megan and I went and got pedicures. It was so fun to see Megan get her little toes painted green with white "grass" as she called it.



Chris and the boys watched Arista while we were out. Ethan and Ashton loved feeding and holding Arista. They are such great helpers!





Later that night Megan and Arista played together in the tub. It was so cute! Arista just loves Megan.



Day 5:
We woke up and Megan laid next to Arista on the floor, and they watched cartoons together, it was so sweet.



We went back to the Mall of America to purchase a pair of Jessica Simpson shoes I loved. Sadly they were gone when we got there. Brian met us there and then we went back to the house and played games. That night we took Brian and Erika out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was so yummy! Then Erika and I went to her friend's volleyball game. We ended the night eating Cheesecake and watching shows.





Day 6:
We woke up and packed, and then said goodbye to our dear friends. Megan and Owen wanted to hold Arista one more time before we left. We are sure going to miss them!





It took us quite a while to drive back home. Arista wanted nothing to do with the car, and we made frequent stops. We pulled into Lansing around midnight, and were so glad to get out of the car. The long drive was completely worth it. We had such a great week, and can't wait to see our friends again. We love you!

Our Spring Break week ended with Chris and I going out on a date Saturday night. Our friends Branden and Breezy were so nice to watch Arista for us, so we could have a much needed date night. We ate at Chili's, walked around the Meridian Mall, and then went and saw "Remember Me". It was so fun to be able to talk and relax with each other, while knowing Arista was being taken care of. Arista did great, and we are so grateful to our friends for taking such great care of her.

"Over the Rainbow"

"We're off to see the Wizard"

Born in Utah, Murphy(Mary) grew up the youngest of 6 children. As she was following the yellow brick road she ran into ScareTor(Tory). ScareTor asked if he could go along with Murphy on the search for the Emerald City. Together they went, skipping and singing along their way. They had 5 munchkins(Kelsey, Rylie, Mikelle, Kipley & Merrick) that came and joined them on their great search, along with AbAb(Dog). With munchkins in hand they continued to follow the yellow brick road through apple throwing trees, wicked witches, a field of poppies, and a spooky forest. Sometimes the flying monkeys would catch the munchkins and take them away to the Wicked Witch's castle. With the help of The Great Wizard of Oz(Heavenly Father), Murphy and ScareTor would save the munchkins and they would continue forward onto the Yellow Brick Road. A Tin man(Chris) came along and joined the gang, as well as a few baby Munchkins. With the motto "There's no place like home", they continue singing and skipping on the Yellow Brick Road until they all reach the Emerald City and live with The Great Wizard of Oz again.

M - Mother. There is no other like my mother. She loves and adores her children and grandchildren, and is always trying to find ways to bring us closer to each other and the savior.
A - Attitude. Despite the trails in life, she always has a positive attitude.
R - Religious. Mom tries very hard to do what is right, and to please the Lord. She loves to read and share the gospel.
Y - Y. Why do we love Mom so much? Because she is awesome! She is always serving others, taking care of her family and parents, and still finding time to strengthen her testimony.


Happy Birthday Mom! We wish we could come and celebrate this happy day with you. We love you so much and are so grateful to have you as our Mom and Grandma. You are such a great example of strength and courage. We don't know what we would do without you. We hope you have a terrific day, and we can't wait to see you soon!

Love,

Chris, Rylie, Preslie and Arista

So This IS Love

"If you don't have a SMILE,

I'll give you one of mine."

16 Months

Dear Preslie,

My heart aches for you today. As I was holding your sister and staring into her eyes, I couldn't help but ache and long for the chance to gaze into your eyes as well. I always think and wonder what you would look like. Would you have curly brown hair? Would your eyes be green or brown? Would you be energetic or shy? Would you be a daddy's girl or mommy's girl? Would you hold your baby sister tight, and want to do everything that she is doing? We learned in Sunday school about Lot's wife, and how she longingly looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. I try so hard to not let the "what ifs" consume my mind, but there are times when I just can't help it. There are times when I want to go back in time and just hold you closer, and kiss you more. I was so scared, and that has been one of my biggest regrets. I should have held your little body longer, I should have held you tighter. I think back to that day and remember how perfect you were. You had the most beautiful hands, and feet. You had the cutest little button nose, and the longest legs. You are perfect Preslie, and I am trying everything I can to be able to make it back to you. To raise you like I am raising your baby sister. To be able to hold you and sing you to sleep, to feed you, and feel you snuggle up against me. I don't understand fully God's plan for our family, but I can't wait to find out. I know we will see you again someday, and can't wait until we are all together again. Stay close to us, visit us often, and know that we are not forgetting you. You will always be our first daughter, and our guardian angel in heaven. We love you and your sister so much, and are so grateful that we were able to have you for the short time we did.

Happy 16 Months my baby "P".

Love, Mommy


My Darling


Go back to sleep now
My darling
And I'll keep all the bad dreams away
Breathe now, think sweet things
And I'll think of all the right words to say

Because we made you
My darling
With the love in each of our hearts
We were a family, my darling
Right from the start

Grow up now
My darling
Please don't you grow up too fast
And be sure, darling
To make all the good times last

Because we made you
My darling
With the love in each of our hearts
We were a family, my darling
Right from the start

3 Joyous Months

Our beautiful miracle is 3 months old today. She has brought us so much joy and life back. We don't know what we would do without her. She is growing up more and more each day, and we cherish every minute.

Arista loves to smile, and she smiles all the time. Her sweet smiles melt our hearts, and give us energy.



Arista loves to talk. She babbles to us all the time, and constantly says "hi".



Arista loves her hands. She tries to nibble on them any chance she gets.



Arista loves to be independent. She loves to lay on the couch and kick and babble away. Her new favorite thing to do is sit in our big rocking chair.





Arista loves Banana Bee. We pulled this little guy out a few weeks ago and she loves him. He makes many different baby talk sounds, and Arista talks right back to him.



Arista loves Daddy. They get up early every morning and play for a few hours. They play on the jungle mat, do webcam, and watch star wars.



Arista loves Mommy. We sing songs, read books, go shopping, play with toys at Target, and snuggle.



Arista loves Preslie. There have been many quiet moments the past few weeks where I know she sees her sister. She will look behind me and smile and laugh. I can't help but look over my shoulder expecting to see someone there. I know that the bond that these sisters share will continue on forever. Although we wish Preslie was here to play, we know she is preparing for our return.



We love you Arista, and are so happy that you joined our family. These 3 months have flown by too fast. We look forward to making many more memories with you. Happy 3 months!!

3rd Annual Miss America Party

This past Saturday night I had my 3rd Annual Miss America Party. Aubrey Boardman and Emily Becker helped out in hosting this year as well. Aubrey came up with a word for every girl who attended, and made a sash for them, as well as came up with questions for us to answer during commercial breaks. We did a bracket again this year, and Janel "Miss Pure" won first place! We had some yummy desserts, lots of laughs, and enough pageant to last us till next year!

Miss East Lansing, and runners up!







I pass the Michigan Miss America Party baton onto "Miss Competitive"

Arista's first trip to Idaho!

Arista was able to meet so many fun people the past few weeks. We had our first trip traveling to Idaho together. We were able to have a long layover in Minneapolis to visit our friends the Hogges. We had a blast for the short amount of time together, and we are planning on visiting them longer for spring break!

After a long day of flying, everyone was anxious to meet their new little niece...

Auntie Kelsey
Auntie Kipley

Auntie Mikelle

Uncle Merrick

We were also able to see my cousin Melissa and meet her little daughter Georgia. Georgia was adorable with Arista, and constantly said "baby" while pointing to her. We could not get enough of little Georgia, she is such a doll. Arista was also able to meet her great Aunt Deb and Uncle Richie the week before.

Melyssa and Georgia

The greatest babysitters



I had a blast going out shopping with my Auntie Karen and Melyssa, while we had 2 awesome babysitters. Mikelle and her boyfriend Kyle were generous to take on Arista and Georgia, two nights in a row. I got some much needed shopping, girl time, and yummy food in. Unfortunately the last night Melissa was here I got horrible food poisoning. :(

Arista also turned 2 months while we were here. She is becoming more and more active everyday. She has found her hands, and her hands have found her mouth. She loves to chew and suck on them. She smiles and coos all the time, and loves to lay on her back and look around at everything that is going on. She has also spent a lot of time with her Auntie Mikelle being bounced on the yoga ball. It calms her down immediately, especially when she is overly tired. Her nights and days are still mixed up, but we are ready to start a schedule when we return home. We just love her!







Arista spent much time with her great grandparents Fern and Wayne Bateman. She is their 49th great grandchild. Every time Arista would cry Grandma would say "It's okay to let her cry, it will make her have a great singing voice".

Arista has had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa, and even went to Relief Society on Sunday to hear Grandma speak. She slept in the back with Grandpa, and was sporting a new dress.

Arista seems to have a calming effect on people...and animals.






Arista sure has had a blast on her first trip out to Idaho, and we are going to miss everyone when we leave on Thursday. Her Aunts and Uncle have spoiled her rotten! She is anxious and excited to see Daddy soon.