WE DID IT!!!

I had the best time in So Cal with my cousins this past weekend. I never thought that the Ragnar race would be as much fun as it was. I am not a hard core runner but would seriously love to do this again. Check out this AMAZING video my cousin Padgett put together of our adventure!

ROCK ON TIBBY'S TRACKSTARS!!! (We have a lot more cousins to help run next year. We might have to have a Roy's Rockstars added to our team!:)



p.s. does anyone know how to make my video fit the screen? It is cutting off half the movie! Thanks!

Crazy or Fun?

I am heading down to So Cal with Kent and my family to run my first Ragnar next week. This is monumental in the fact that
a) it will be the first night away for Kent and I alone without the kids since the boys were born. Nothing like spending it with 10 other sweaty people for 24hours plus in 2 suburbans!:)
b) I haven't ran a race...or really ran since before the boys were born.
c) I will finally have a visual of what Kent really does!

Thanks Simmons/Morgan cousins who have agreed to this crazy adventure and make our team possible.

ROCK ON Tibby's Trackstars! ROCK ON!

Memories

Kent put our Christmas card together this past Sunday. We are still planning on mailing the actual card but sometimes they don't always make it in the envelope and mail before the season is over. I can't believe this year has gone bye so fast. CRAZY!

Updates:
Morgan and Mack are now really walking all the time which means I am going slightly nuts chasing them around. They also have 3 official words. Sucker "gucker", car "ca" and cracker "gacker". Only the essentials. No mom or dad here!
Claire had her 4th birthday (pictures to follow) and also we found out that she has caught up with the typical 4 year old speech. That means we get to start to phase out speech. HAPPY DAY!:)
Emma is the best big sister! She has been such a great helper the past couple of months and I don't know what I would do without her. She is so mature for her age that I forget she is only 5. I guess that is the curse of being the oldest in the family!

Hope your having a great holiday season with plenty of Nutcrackers, snow, hot chocolate and lights!

Big Steps

This is a picture of the kids meeting Kent at the airport after his race. They were so excited!

Claire after she had a successful trip to the potty!

Mack taking his first steps!

Morgan clapping since Claire and I were freaking out after he just stood up and walked!

We have had big steps happening around here lately!

Mack and Morgan have started to take their first steps. In true twin/boy fashion Mack did it first and it seemed like Morgan was literally a step behind. Mack is such a physical kid who just tries and tries until he finally gets it. Morgan on the other hand seemed to study Mack trying and then just got up and did it. They are so darn cute I can't stand it!

Claire has finally got the hang of using the potty! It has truly been a miracle to watch how easy it has been for her. I am constantly amazed once again at how well her brain and body have worked together. AMAZING!

Emma had her first trip away from mom. This was more of a big step for me than her. She went with Kent last weekend to California to see Kent's brother bless their baby. I was so nervous and sad to think that I was missing out on things with her but the idea of driving to and from California with all the kids in one weekend was enough for me to miss those events in her life! She had a great time though and I am so proud of the girl she is becoming.

Kent had his first race in that he was in charge of in September. It was amazing for me to see how much work really goes into every single race at Ragnar! I had no idea and am happy to say that we survived as a family and he survived as the race director!

Me...well I am doing a first since I had kids which is perform solo in public. This has been a big stretching moment in my life this past year. I have loved reconnecting to performing and practicing. I am performing tonight at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square at 7:30 as part of the Temple Square Concert series. I am looking forward to it and hopefully enjoying the experience! All are welcome that are 8 years old and older!:)

Major Update!

OK, it has seriously been way too long since I updated. I guess that is what May and June bring. I don't even have kids in real school to use as an excuse. It has just been crazy around here and it doesn't look like it will let up anytime soon.
In May Kent was out of town for 2 weeks to NY and I feel like we handled it pretty well. He was helping with the Ragnar New York race and worked so hard he came home and broke out into shingles. Lovely! At the same time all the kids seemed to be getting sick at the same time. What a life!:)
After that memorable week Emma graduated from Pre-school. I really can't believe she is 5 and going to Kindergarten next year. It seems like we really just had her. She is growing up to be such a beautiful little girl who is sweet, social and sensitive to those around her. There isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't ask for a friend.
She loved Apple Tree School House and especially Miss Michelle. Congratulations E!
Then I took my harp student to the Utah Symphony for the All Stars Evening. It was so much fun! I gave them each a ticket to the Symphony for Christmas and we did it in May. It was such a great experience to be able to take these girls (most of them for the 1st time) to see Symphony Hall, the stage the lights, the musicians and the 3 harps! Yes, there were 3 harps playing in the concert. It was so much fun I think it just might become a tradition.


Another fun thing we have done the past month was the Dream Night at Hogle Zoo. At the beg. of May Claire's hippotherapist asked if we wanted tickets to the Dream Night. I had no idea what it was but free tickets to the zoo sounded pretty good to me so I accepted them. Well, it was one of the most amazing, fun and humbling experiences I have had in a long time. If you google Dream Night you will see that it is a night that zoo's all over the world sponser. It was started in Amsterdam in 1996 and has grown to 224 zoo's. It is a night where the zoo closes to regular patrons and opens its doors to kids and families with disabilites or sick children. To say that we were inspired was an understatement. As we walked around the zoo with Claire and Emma it was amazing to see the families with kids in wheelchairs and feeding tubes and braces like Claire's and so much more. We came away humbled once again and realizing how lucky we are to have Claire in our lives. Without her and her trials we would not even be aware of this whole new world that so many people are a part of. The girls had fun getting their faces painted and having a night out with mom and dad minus the boys. I hope we have the chance to go again next year. It was truly AMAZING!






Since then life has had swimming lessons, harp lessons, tennis, arts & crafts, Wasatch Back (not running but Kent working) and this week the ballet recital.
Yes. This week has been crazy (when is it not?) with Kent working extremely late and hard for Wasatch Back. It has been like he is out of town but just comes home to sleep. Weird to say the least.




So amid all this Emma has been dancing the past couple of days in her recital. To say she has been in heaven might be an understatement. She loves everything about ballet. She has enjoyed getting her hair done, makeup and especially wearing her beautiful costume and pink bow. She is a Music Box Dancer and has a 30 second dance that is sheer joy. The best part for me is seeing her dance with her friends and really start to grow up. The funniest has been watching her in dress rehearsal push the other dancers on stage. When she was done and we were walking out to the car I said "Emma you can't push the other dancers on stage." Her response was " Mom, they just didn't know where they were going and needed a little direction." Thanks for clarifying E. She told me last night at the dress rehearsal she only pushed 1 kids this time rather than 3! :)

Mack


Morgan
I couldn't do an update without a little M & M action. They are doing great. They are so adorable that I can't stand it. I feel slightly bad that their entire day consists of going from the cribs to the car seats to the high chairs. They don't really have a lot of time on the floor which is probably why they are not walking yet. I am thankful they aren't! I don't think I am going to be able to keep up with them. Morgan is so sweet and inquisitive and active. He keeps me on my toes. Mack is really starting to be either totally happy all day or just miserable and crying all day. It is like he makes up his mind in the morning that he is going to be a delight and joy or totally hard. I love him so much though and am having so much fun watching them really grow into their own personalities. the best part is when they realize the other isn't around and seem to panic. They really love each other and it is like they are both half of one big person. Oh they are so much fun!
If you have stuck with me this long in reading this insanely long post I must tell you that it will probably be another long time before I post again. I am going slightly crazy with teaching and Institute that I don't think I will have anything sane to add. I am so grateful for my family though. How boring life would be if it was just Kent and me! Happy summer, swimming and snowcones!

Pros and Cons

Do you ever have a day where you feel like you need to list the pros and cons of the day to realize that it really isn't that bad? I had one yesterday.
Kent has been out of town since Thursday morning and comes home this Friday and yesterday was the half way mark. That means that it was pretty much a crappy day. I don't really know why it was but the entire day just felt "off". You know what I mean?
So in order to combat it by the end of the day and countless moments of losing my patience with my children I listed the pros and cons.

Here is what I came up with in no specific order...please don't judge me!:)
Cons:
-I am flying solo which means no down time.
-Emma is sleeping now officially in my room on the floor which means she goes to bed with me and wakes up with me. I don't know about you but with the down time I need my alone time. Selfish I know but that is the truth!
-Claire's fish died and I had to be the one to tell her and dispose of him. She did not take the news well...ask Aunt Hannah. RIP Bobby!
-Mack and Morgan both have double ear infections which does not make for pleasant babies. Need I say more?
-I had McDonald's for breakfast and dinner. No lunch. (this could be a pro as well I am not really sure!)

Pros:
-I have an amazing family on both sides who call and check in to see if I am still sane.
-I have a wonderful bed which when I finally crawl into I can't keep my eyes open for more than 2 seconds. Not to mention a home and food and clothes. ALWAYS a bonus!
-The girls bought the boys birthday presents with coupons I got in my first Sunday paper. (see it is all ready paying off!)
-I am healthy and well.
-I have a wonderful mom who came and helped me fold every clean article of clothing that I had in the house!
-I have a wonderful husband who is working hard to provide for our family
-I have a great job that enables me to work on something besides kids which in essence gives me a few moments of sanity.
-I bought "New Moon" the DVD and watched half of it. I plan to finish the other half today. (again please don't judge! It is like candy to my brain. No need to think just sit and veg.)

I found this to be incredibly therapeutic and helpful to my mental state.
What are your pros and cons? Do you ever have to do this?

Ally and Bobby

Where has the time gone? I can't believe it has been over a month since I last posted but a lot has been going on!
Here are the two newest pets in our family. Let me explain. About 2 months ago Kent and I decided that it was time to let Go Motor's go so to speak and as of October 1st Kent joined the ranks of unemployed. To say the least it was a bit stressful. Kent told the girls that when he got a new job they could get fish. So here are the two newest members of the Phippen clan. Claire named her fish Bobby and Emma named hers Ally. Don't ask me why but they are good names and I am so happy that Kent found a job.
His new job is with Ragnar events. They are the guys that organize and put on the Wasatch Back relay race every summer. This is an amazing road race that requires teams of 12 runners to run different legs of a 200 mile course from Logan to Park City. They start on a Friday morning, run through the night and end on Saturday. It is a crazy experience but one people tend to do over and over again because they have such a great time!
Kent will now officially be in charge of their Washington D.C. race that is held every September. It does require some traveling and since we have never had a job that requires that I am a bit nervous. We feel like this is such a blessing in this economy and time of our lives that we will be helped along the way. He started today and like I said before we are sooooo excited for him to be part of such a great company and experience. Thanks Ragnar!!!!

Besides that the boys are now 7months old, Claire started at Shriner's hospital, and Emma now can officially hit 5 balls over the net both forehand and back hand. Let alone Halloween. Hannah made the M & M costumes. She had no pattern and had to make something that Claire could wear to hippotherapy. I had no idea that she was so AMAZING at sewing and I want to thank her once again for making my kids so happy. Especially Claire. Her "lellow n&M" costume was perfect!!!!

Halloween help!

So I just visited my friend Circe's blog and realized that Halloween is coming. Crazy I know but in seriously a couple of weeks I will need to figure out all the kids costumes. I need help! I am putting it out in the blogosphere for help with the costumes. Claire has decided she wants to be Scooby Dooby Doo. Honestly I have no idea where that idea came from but she has stuck with the idea for awhile now so I think it is set. The boys are going to be M & M's. Any color I think. I haven't decided.:) I know, not that creative but I haven't been able to find a pattern or baby costumes that would work. Emma...well she hasn't decided yet but I am sure it will involve some fairy wings or princess something or other. I have never made my kids costumes so the buying or borrowing variety works best for us.
There it is. The problem out in the air and hopefully some ideas or solutions. Thanks everyone!

End of Summer

Today we went to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa Phippen as well as cousins Grace and Gabe. Emma doesn't get to play with these cousins very often as Grace lives in California and Gabe...well he lives in Salt Lake and we have not one good excuse as to why we don't play more. We need to work on that! I have never seen such happy 4yr olds who just thouroughly enjoyed every aspect of the zoo. When asked what her favorite thing was Emma responded "the baby Giraffe!".
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa P for giving my girls such great memories!


This is what the boys did while we were at the zoo. Thanks Danielle!
(I know I post a lot of pictures of them sleeping but honestly, it is so adorable how they fit together like puzzle pieces!)

Sometimes all you need is a friend

Maya and Taylor (born 9 days before Mack and Morgan)


Mack and Morgan

Emma and Claire

I am just so grateful that my boys have each other and my girls have each other.

Blessing Day

Yesterday was Mack and Morgan's blessing. It was such a great day and we were very lucky to have most of our family there. Kent and I both are the 7th of 8 kids so you can only imagine how many people make up our families together in one place!:)
Kent did a great job and it was a nice moment in time to reflect how much our lives have changed in such a short amount of time. Looking back at the photos of the day Kent commented on this photo that we are a really big family now. It was one of the moments when reality hit. Crazy!!! We have 4 kids!!!! Thanks to all our family for coming and helping us with the food! We felt very loved and supported once again!:)



Mack and Morgan after the blessing. They were zonked!



W. Mack holding Mack W.



The boys in their outfits. They were happy the entire day until I tried to take a picture of them.



The boys post party. What a great day!

Go Motors 1 year Anniversary

GO Motors Car Show. Thanks to all the friends who loaned their cars!

The girls having lunch and enjoying the sun.

Emma and the Tesla. Notice all the men behind the car? They couldn't stop drooling!

The boys. Sleeping on the job!:)

So I am a bit late posting about Go Motors anniversary but it was so much fun and a great success! Kent worked so hard to get everything ready and thanks to our friend who loaned us the Tesla we had a great crowd of car enthusiasts. If you want to know more about the Tesla google it! It is an amazing electric sports car that require no maintenance really as well as no gas. I will be honest...I didn't really know much about the Tesla but the 150-200 people who came to see it knew what they were talking about and drooled all over it!
The girls loved hanging out with dad at his work and we want to thank all our friends and family who showed up to support us. It was a fun day and I am so proud of Kent who has worked so hard this year to get the business up and running. Thank goodness we made it through the first year! I really don't think we will ever be able to top this day with anything more fun than the Tesla but here's to many more years of trying!:)

Sisters

Emma and Claire at Grandma Simmons, Nov. 2008


Me and my sisters minus Liz...I don't know where she was!

I am blessed to have 4 sisters in my life. Blessed it the right word because they are my best friends, mentors, confidants, and inspirations.
We were not always like this. Growing up I was like all other siblings and fought with them about clothes mostly. But as we all have grown up we have really become each others biggest support system through our new lives of being wives, having children and becoming adults.
So, you may wonder why I am writing about my best friends but I think it is because I have been thinking a lot about them lately.
Right after I had the boys I was waiting in the recovery room and Kent was bouncing back and forth between me and the boys and then all of a sudden my mom and Sarah peaked around the corner of the curtain and I just started to cry! After Kent had called my mom to let her know we were in the hospital but never called her back, my mom then called the hospital and they told her that I was in surgery. So I guess Sarah and my mom jumped in the car and raced up to be with me and Kent thankfully! They also took care of the phone tree to get the word out that we had the boys and that Mack was being life flighted to Primary's. On top of all that Liz then came to the hospital and Hannah called and Katie came the next day and I felt so much love! Since then I have not gone a day without talking to at least one sister and really probably two or three. Every day! I am so lucky!
So today I watched as my girls worked on their own sister bond. Claire had some therapy today at the house and before it started I told Emma that it was Claire's thing and that as long as she was quiet she could stay and watch and hopefully help out. I then sat on the couch and watched while the therapist worked with Claire. It was so amazing to watch Emma say "yah, Claire! Good Job Claire!" every time Claire was able to use her left hand and do what the therapist was asking. It was so sweet for me to think that they are building their relationship at such young ages. I don't know if they will have the same fights I did with my sisters...I am sure they will. But I do know that they are lucky to have each other.
There is nothing like sisters. Don't you agree?

Groundhog Day!

I realize that I haven't written in awhile and I don't really know why. I guess it is because life is a tad bit crazy and also it feels like groundhog day every day.

I am still loving having four kids and realize how lucky I am to have 2 girls and 2 boys. Thankfully everyone has someone to play with and keep them company! Emma and Claire work great together and the boys get cranky when they are not together! So that leaves me with a day that keeps on going and going and going with feeds, naps, diapers, getting kids dressed, combing and doing girls hair (multiple times a day!!!)washing bottles, picking up all day long it seems and the list keeps going. I know all you mom's out there understand our life and day!!! I guess that is why I haven't written lately. There are some things I want to update on. Beware...this is a long post so you can stop reading now if you want. I won't be offended!:)

Emma has officially gotten to start the right hand twinkles on the harp! That might not seem like much to most of you but honestly, it has been a year of left hand twinkles before this day has come. I am so proud of her and realize that it is not about the amount of pieces she learns, it is about the skill of sticking with something and learning that I am happy about! She also finished her first year of preschool and is asking daily when she can go back. I hope this enthusiasm keeps up when real school starts!

Claire is starting to string words together. Now you have to tell her everything to say but she is mimicking everything and that gives Kent and I so much hope! Hope that she will one day be able to speak for herself and that she might be able to communicate like everyone else! I have had a little bit of a realization with her this past week. I am so used to her disabilities that I don't really even notice them anymore but this past week we started a little mom and tot gym class with just "regular" kids. This little class once again brought home to me the reality of her weakness's that I had forgotten and made me realize that I have no clue as to the future of my sweet little girl! It all hit home when they asked the kids to wiggle their toes and she was wiggling away her right foot like normal while her left just sat there. Such a simple thing that I take for granted and yet it made me remember the bumpy road we have ahead. I just hope I am up for those challenges that are to come with her socially. Who knows?!

The boys are doing awesome! They are both now about 6 1/2 pounds and are sleeping pretty well. Other than the fact the Mack's heart medicine is very hard to come by (long story!). He has not had any episodes and for that I am truly thankful! We had his first cardiology appointment this past week and I asked him what I should do if he has an episode. He calmly told me that if he has an episode that lasts 30min or longer to take him to Primary Children's ER. Lovely! He said don't bother with any other ER because they won't have a clue what to do with him and his condition. Again...Lovely!:) Morgan is such a little sweetheart and he and Mack are just such great blessings in our lives.

I have asked myself this past week many times what it was like to have healthy kids that didn't have specialist, meds, a billion appointments etc.? I realized though that with all the appointments and time spent going there I get the opportunity to spend quality alone time with each child. I get the opportunity to have these challenges and I just hope that I am learning the lessons I am supposed to be learning.
I once had a harp teacher in London who said that if you didn't learn the lesson that you were supposed to the first time, then the opportunity to learn it would keep coming back until you learned what you needed to. I thought that was only about hand position and music.:) I think my life right now is a bit like groundhog day...these trials will keep coming back until I learn what I need to. Wasn't that the gist of the movie with Bill Murray? It has been a long time and unfortunately I don't have the time to watch again! Have a great holiday weekend!

Happiness

Brotherly love!


Fun girls tea party!

Just thought I would show you what happiness looks like to me today. :)

Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day!

Boys home week 2

We are having a great time with the boys home and adjusting to life with 4 kids! I must say that having them home has been a bit easier than I thought it would be. It does help that the NICU put them on a great schedule and that the girls are a HUGE help! I was telling Kent last night that before I had them I could not comprehend having two babies at once! Now I could not comprehend having only one of them at a time. I couldn't imagine what Claire and Emma would do if they actually had to share a baby. This way they each get their own!:) Every morning Emma comes into our bed after Kent and I have fed them and asks to hold one of them. Kent always asks her who and she will yell out randomly whoever she can think of. So yesterday it was Mack and today it was Morgan. Her day I guess can't start without her boy fix!
The only difference between 2 and 4 is the amount of free time I have. With 2 I had a little bit of free time when Claire went down for her nap and Emma watched her show. Now I have zero free time from 6:30am-11:30pm. It just never lets up! That is an adjustment I am learning to make!

I did venture out myself with all the kids twice last week. Once to Target then to Costco. It wasn't that I needed anything so desperately that I needed to brave the stores. It was more about me knowing that I could do it if I needed to. Kent thinks I am crazy and he is probably right! It is easy right now I think because they are just sleeping and not mobile. Check back with me when they are actually moving and having a voice.:)

On a small update of how they are growing they weighed them last week and they were 5 pounds and 2 ounces exactly. That is the 16% on the preemie charts. Not even close to the "normal" baby charts. They are getting bigger though and other than not having enough preemie clothes to fit them life is great! I defiantly can't complain!!!!

Also, yesterday all my sisters and sisters-in-law came over to "help" but really it was just a good excuse to get together and have an awesome lunch and let the kids play. It was so nice and thoughtful of them to come and a ton of fun. What would I do without family and especially sisters/sister-in-law? Thanks you guys!

(still can't figure out the pictures! Honestly, I need help!!!)
1.Mack and Morgan in custom made onesies. Thanks Ellen and Liz Hoke!
2.Emma holding Morgan (I think?!)
3.Hannah holding cousin Charlie
4.Sarah holding Mack, Mom holding Morgan
5.Action shot! Mack wouldn't hold still. Custom made onesies thanks to Aunt Dree!