Welcome Home Daddy!

September 19, 2009--The Homecoming!

It has been three weeks since Matt stepped off the plane and back into our lives again. It feels incredible to be together as a family. When he is here, it makes me wonder how I ever did it without him. Life has been busy since he arrived as we are preparing to make our move to Kentucky and/or Tennessee in December. Ft. Campbell is spread across both sides of the border, so it's a coin toss as to which state we will end up in. Here are a few highlights from his homecoming.

IS HE HERE YET??? (waiting...)

(tick, tock, tick, tock)
The soldiers marching in to the Rocky theme song
Happy little girls
Finally a family again

Welcome home Matt!!!

Back on the island again

A FEW PICTURES OF OUR JOURNEY TO THE MAINLAND

PAPA giving the girls a tractor ride in front of the house. You can see the Rexbug temple in the far right corner of the picture

At Mesa Falls when Papa Dolezal came for a visit

Picnic Lunch at Mesa Falls

The Upper Falls

Flowing into the Snake River

Laila and me at Mesa Falls

Skylar, Maya, and their cousins



The infamous Clements family "Weenie Roast"

and a bikini baby!!!

An amazing sunset at the Sand dunes

and a two headed sand-dinosaur!!!

Sitting by the fire (and ash) at the Dunes

Going for a Girls Night Out with all the sistas (Katie and Les were in the front)

Camping in the tetons at our annual Anderson Reunion

Roasting mallows and eating smores....mmmmm

The FREEZING Mornings

and crisp afternoons.

Building boats with papa for the boat race

and on the Hobo Hike--arrgh matey. These little pirates found juice boxes and fruit snacks at the end of the trail. Perfect.

Reflecting on years past

and welcoming the new campground!

Visiting other family campfires

And finally back in SLC at a hotel downtown with the girls

Going shopping at the gateway and getting stalked by 15 year old boys who thought I was a babysitter to my three kids.

Finally on the 6 hour flight home

The girls did pretty well on the flight and were excited to be home

That's right...we're HOME!!!

Birthdays, anniversaries, and babies OH MY!

So, here it is almost June and I have been notedly absent from the blog scene for the past month or so. But, of course there are reasons for this.

First this happened--April 27th, our 7th Anniversary!!

(and one very large meatball)

The very next day (April 28th) our little girl turned FOUR!!

And she wondered what she would do with a brand new bike helmet

And only hours later (about 1 a.m. on April 29th) --this happened! Our baby girl was ready to meet her sisters!
I was all smiles here....

And then this happened---(contractions!)

But soon enough---this happened (I am a TEN!)

Finally--she is here!
Welcome to the world Laila Capri Dolezal.
April 29th, 2009 at 1703, weighing 5 lbs 15 oz , and 18 inches long.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Well, I seemed to have joined the silent ranks of those in the Almost-Thirty-Club. I have reached 26, an age which is no longer closer to 20, but closer to thirty instead. But after much contemplation, I have come to terms with the age I once dreaded. I had an amazing day, and overall--I think it's going to be a good year.

I sent Maya to work with Matt for a few hours so I could sneak away to the nail salon to get a pedicure and manicure. I couldn't understand one word the nail guy was saying, but he did a great job and even drew some pretty flowers on my toes while I sat in the massage chair.

After Matt got off work we headed downtown to the Cheesecake Factory. Traffic wasn't too terrible and we made it down there in a record time of 25 minutes (amazing if you've ever experienced the traffic in Honolulu). Of course Matt made sure he told them it was my birthday while I was gone, so there was a whole crew of people I didn't know singing and a silly little scene in the middle of the restaurant. But it was pretty fun and the Cheesecake was divine.




The girls were so excited to give me their own cards that they had picked out and decorated. Skylar got to practice her writing skills and couldn't wait for me to see it. The card read: "Mommye, I luv you so so so. You are so luvley. Luv, Skylar" and was one of my favorite presents. The girls went shopping with their Daddy and he had sworn them to secrecy over the past few weeks(something very hard to do, especially for Maya). They had done so great in not spilling the beans the entire week, and right before I opened the last present, Maya exclaimed "Okay, it's time for your last purse present mama!" And whaddya know--indeed there was a purse inside.


Hip Hip Hooray for TWENTY-SIX!

I have a husband again (and I'm still very pregnant)!

I guess I didn't realize how long it has been since I've blogged or updated anyone about anything. It says my last post was January 28th, which I find hard to believe! But life definitely keeps happening and isn't slowing down just for me. A lot has happened in the past few months--including the arrival of my husband! One day Matt called me from Iraq and was trying to explain that he wouldn't be coming home at all. To make it even worse, they wouldn't put him on a plane until I actually went into labor. For all of those curious, it takes DAYS to get out of Iraq and back to Hawaii. It can sometimes take longer than a week. I was shocked and wasn't sure how I would handle having a baby by myself. The next day, he called telling me he was going to be coming home soon and that things completely changed. A week later he called and said he was getting on a plane and would be home in a matter of days. It all happened so fast it didn't even feel real. I knew it was a blessing and nothing short of a miracle. After four days of traveling, he finally made it to Hawaii and we were able to pick him up at his gate. It is amazing to have our family back together again.

I am now almost 34 weeks pregnant, and the time couldn't be passing any slower. I have 6 weeks to go, but I am just hoping I don't have to be pregnant for the entire 40 weeks (or longer). I have never made it past 36 weeks in a pregnancy before, but that doesn't mean much. Matt loves my ever growing belly and feeling her move inside. He loves watching the knees and elbows he sees sticking out of my sides (more like karate kicks to the ribs), but I just can't wait to feel human again (and be able to see my feet). I am trying to enjoy being pregnant, but it's getting pretty miserable here towards the end. I just can't wait to meet our new little girl. We decided to name her Laila, but haven't exactly settled on the spelling of the name yet. There are so many different ways--Layla, Leila, Leyla, Laila. I pretty much change my mind every day, but hopefully it will be decided soon. Other than the spelling of her name, everything is ready for our little one's arrival--down to the bedding, diaper bag, changing table, crib, car seat, clothes, etc. The next two months are jam packed, but I will try find some time to blog about our lives. Tomorrow I'll be turning the big 26, and at the end of the month we'll be celebrating Maya's fourth birthday and our 7th wedding anniversary. In May we will hopefully be having a baby, along with Skylar's 6th birthday and Matt's 26th. I guess it wouldn't seem right if this baby chose any other month of the year to be born. Life really couldn't get any better right now and being a family again is pretty great.