Blessing Karli

I cried. Not on her actual blessing day, but the Sunday before. That's when I realized that we'd need to bless Karli the following Sunday. After the initial panic wore off-how was I going to get everything ready in a week?!-I realized that we wouldn't have any family present. Everyone's in Utah. Except us. So I cried through most of Sacrament Meeting and off and on throughout the week. And then the day was here. Sunday, March 25, 2012, Karli was blessed by her daddy while her oldest brother, Chase, held the microphone. Maybe she wasn't surrounded by family, but she was blessed by men that love her and that her family loves. And I didn't cry. I was far too grateful for the friends we have here and how willing they are to be there for us. It was a very tender blessing and the little beasties, Corbin and Mia, were well-behaved enough that I was able to hear the entire thing.

After church, we had a little luncheon with a only a few minor mishaps. Okay, so a broken leg isn't exactly minor, but our friend Bonnie handled it so well that she made it seem so. It was a wonderful day. Thank you everyone. And to those who weren't here in person, I know you were in spirit and we missed you too.

I forgot to mention that this was the dress that I was blessed in. I have to thank my mom for finding it and then using her great detective skills to figure out it was mine. I think Karli looks great in it.

She's here

Where have I been? That’s a good question. Physically, I suppose that I’ve been here in Oregon. But I’ve also been broken. I had a rough summer. It began when we learned that Denver’s funding for school was being cut. Less than a week later we also learned that we’d be adding another little one to our family. I was a little worried, but I figured we’d work it out somehow. The following months were unpleasant, and that’s putting it mildly. I was sick-worse than any of the others. And then I learned of some terrible things that shook me so hard I will spend the rest of my life recovering. And so, although I’ve been emotionally checked out, I’m back now and determined to catch up on my posting and everything else. That being said, how about a few pics of our newest addition, Karli Ruth Dalton. Born Feb. 9, 2009. Weighed in at 8 lbs, 14 oz with a length of 21 inches. We are in love!

Sweet little thing-okay so this first pic is pretty yech, but if you'll keep going you'll see what I'm talking about.

That's better-now she's cute!

And she even smiles now! That's what happens when you wait til she's six weeks before you post pictures!
Love this one of her and her daddy! He won't admit that he's totally in love with her. He'll stop denying it eventually.

Crabbing

We went crabbing! This is not to be confused with crabby, which happens quite often around here and is not something I prefer to write about. We actually went crabbing a few months ago-okay before summer even started-but we had so much fun I just knew everyone would want to know all about it.

We met our friends, the Howells-great family, recently relocated from Utah-in Reedsport to begin our adventure. They had some nets and were already expert crabbers in my opinion. I'll admit I was a bit leery of the kids falling in the water. Have you seen how big Chase's feet have gotten? Kidding. The little ones just weren't steady on their feet. Yet, no one did fall in the water and we all had a ton of fun. Corbin talked about it for weeks, although he was scared of the crabs and wouldn't go near them when we did catch some. It was a bit windy so our noses may look red in the pictures, but for Oregon it was a perfect day. Perfect friends, perfect fun.











...Ahhh, chasing seagulls, nothing could make our puppy, uh, son, happier!

Easter

We had a fabulous Easter this year. We started it all on Saturday with the annual Easter Breakfast and egg hunt that our ward puts on. It was delicious and so wonderful to be able to see some friends. That afternoon we spent some time decorating eggs and goofing around and on Sunday the kids found their baskets and got to wear their new outfits. I have to say that my favorite part, however, was listening to Corbin's answer when asked why we celebrate Easter, "Jesus is alive again." 'Nuf said. Enjoy the pics!

Oh, but they are so adorable!



Too bad I can't get them both to look at the camera at the same time...


Despite the fact the she looks like she's holding something rancid, Mia did have fun gathering eggs.


I think it took Corbin all of 20 seconds to discover that the eggs were full of candy.


This picture illustrates why there was only one attempt at getting a picture of all three together-My obedient Chase, he was the only one willing to sit still for more than three seconds.


This year we decided to try something new, instead of dipping our eggs into dye we thought we'd try painting them.
We set up a table outside, hoping to keep the damage to a minimum.


Corbin really enjoyed it, although he had a hard time holding the eggs in his little hands and hated it if he got anything on them. He's seriously abnormal and freaks out of his hands get dirty. Don't ask me where he got that from!


Mia wasn't really into decorating the eggs but still liked to be in the middle of things.


Chase is a master decorator and made some very interesting eggs.


Denver just likes me to take pictures of him with that cheesy grin. Oh wait, maybe he really doesn't like his picture taken but it makes me laugh and that's why he does it-he'd do anything to make me happy.


And here is the proof that I was actually present this year...


This next set of pictures were taken before church on Easter morning. I gotta admit that were we ready and had a few minutes to spare so I thought I'd try and get a couple of shots.
Okay, so maybe Mia's not thrilled but at least all three of them are in the picture.

Well, she's not looking at the camera but at least she looks happier.


Victory!!! She's happy and she's facing forward!


I love the looks on their faces, "Mom, really, let's be done."

Or how about, "Mom I know that I look devastatingly handsome and all grown-up, so I'll stick my tongue out to remind you that I'm still your little boy."


I like to call this one "Surprised faces".


And the final victory-my beautiful family, minutes before we hopped in the car and made it to church-ON TIME!!!! Next year maybe we'll attempt to capture a picture with me in it also. We'll just have to see.