May 3, 2026
Kassie and I returned from France this week and resumed normal life. The kids seemed to have done well with Kassie's parents while we were out. Desi was very clingy and gave lots of hugs and cuddles throughout the day after we got home.
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| Desi Sneaking into Greyson's bed |
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| Stretching with Mom |
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| Addie's movie night with friends from school |
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| Tired baby |
Hinckley had a great first swim meet of the summer, knocking multiple seconds of each of his 3 races of the day. He's started doing exercises at night and is motivated to get strong. He is growing like a weed and may be as tall as me by his birthday if he keeps going at the current rate.
Addie has been working very hard to earn money. She really wants a loft bed (sort of like a bunk bed but the bottom is a desk rather than another bed). She's been weeding at neighbors' houses with her friend Brooke and is excited to see her bank account totals growing. She's decided to finish voice lessons in May which has been a bit of a struggle.
Greyson continues his scooter obsession. He and his friends rampaged around the neighborhood while we were gone and we are laying down the law with a new routine that we hope will provide a little more structure and less destruction without limiting his "free play" growing opportunities. His baseball season begins this week with your truly as the coach.
Desmond got a hair cut this weekend, and is excited to start using the word "yes" which has helped with communication. It's nice to get a break from the "No"s every once and a while. He loves his bunny, dinos, cards ("beep beeps!"), and books. And of course wants to follow his siblings everywhere possible, mimicking them in everything he can.
Kassie and I enjoyed our trip. Among the regular Paris hot spots such as Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe we visited Versailles including the King's apartments, did a pastry/food tour (YUM), walked through the under ground catacombs, visited the D-day beaches in Normandy (Omaha and Utah), hiked up and toured Mont Saint-Michel Abbey, Claude Monet's home in Giverny, and more. It was incredible! Biggest surprises for me included just how big the Eiffel Tower really is, and the age and beauty of the Tree of Liberty outside the Bayeux church in Normandy. Neither of us are too thrilled to be returning to regular life, but that's the way things are.
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| Hall of Mirrors |
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| Food tour - Crepes! |
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| Fresh off the tower |
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| D-day beaches |
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| Mont St-Michel |
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| Monet's House and Grounds |
April 19, 2026
This week we celebrated Desmond's birthday and he was a very excited 2 year old. He got lots of animals and dinos and enjoyed all the attention at day care on Wednesday and a bunch of family on Sunday. It was very hard to wait to eat his dino birthday cake Kassie made, and he surprised us all by trying to eat the candles right after blowing them out! His big discovery this week is standing at the bathroom sink and submerging dinos in the water. He loves it so much.
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| Birthday morning |
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| Party at day care |
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| Returning home with goodies |
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| Water play |
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| Some naptime reading |
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| Birthday boy with Mom |
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| Construction guy |
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| Ready to blow out the candles |
In other news, the other kids started back to school after great spring break. Addie got sick mid-week and was throwing up, but recovered pretty fast and apparently no one else was affected which we were grateful for. She and I had a fun date hiking the Y (her first time) and getting some treats at the creamery. Her big wish in life right now is to get a loft bed and is trying to earn money by weeding neighbors' yards to save up for that.
Hinckley and Kassie enjoyed a pickleball date and trying some Swedish candy on Saturday. Greyson played endlessly with his friends at our house and the skatepark. He is tireless.
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| At the top of the Y |
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| Sick Addie |
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| Hinckley's pinewood derby car |
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| Kassie chemist (micro biology class) |
April 12, 2026
We had a busy Easter with lots of music, noise, candy and eggs. Desi quickly figured out how the egg hunting went and really enjoyed that. The kids had spring break this week. Mom and Dad spent time with Addie and Greyson on Monday and Wednesday which they really enjoyed - involving Provo Rec center time, Mario movie, jump parks, and more. Hinckley spent a lot of time with friends and really enjoyed his time off of school and swimming. Desmond did his normal daycare routine and Kassie started a Micro biology course that seems intense. We went to St George on Thursday and returned Saturday night. We enjoyed swimming, hiking, and learning how to coordinate a wide range of desires and needs.
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| Mid day walk with Addie in the blossoms |
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| Visiting the new Lehi Library |
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| Skatepark burns |
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| A lunch stop in Beaver |
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| Swimming boys |
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| Hot tubbing with mom |
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| Pioneer Park near St George |
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| On top of the world |
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| Yum yums (desi's word for food) |
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| On the train |
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| Snow canyon petrified dunes |
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| Sand baby |
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| Ice cream in Beaver on the way home |
Desi has developed a few new words for his vocabulary. He continues to roar most of the time, but after our trip to the "train park" he refers to trains as "hoot hoot!" and cars as "beep beeps". He has a way of wagging his finger at anyone he disagrees with, saying "NO!" at the same time. He also has developed a very cute "awww" with the intonation similar to "oh man!" when he is told he can't have what he wants. He loved the sand, water, trains, dinos, and time with the whole family. This St George trip was perfect for him.
April 5, 2026
We had a full week and conference weekend. Addie got braces! She's been in a lot of pain. Hinckley has a break going on right now with swimming and has been enjoying the extra time with friends. He requested a buzz and then bleached his hair again...I guess it's the style these days (apologies to Abi if this was the reason Logan did something similar...!). Greyson continues to scooter a bunch with his buddies. He and Desi both got a little sick this week with throwing up and such but are all better now.
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