Kaley's First Birthday

Our big news is that Kaley is 1. We are so blessed to have her as part of our family. In some ways it's hard to believe a whole year has gone, but in other ways I feel everyday because it's been a rather rough year for us. Kaley celebrated her birthday with the appearance of her eighth tooth. We celebrated by having everyone over for cake and ice cream on Saturday. She was spoiled and received so many gifts that opening them took 20 minutes and was a bit overwhelming for her. It’s well known that she likes books as evidenced by the 14 she received. She also got her summer wardrobe and some cool toys including a music table that she loves.

After the party, we went to Five Guys for dinner with Jarl’s parents where we let Kaley eat as many French fries as she wanted. Then we went to Walmart to find a microphone so we could sing our favorite songs on Guitar Hero and ended up buying Band Hero. So much fun. But we’ve spent a fortune getting everything for the Wii. We came home, played for a bit, sent the kids to bed, and then spent 2.5 hours rocking out with my brother Nate and his wife Angelisa. So fun, but so tired Sunday morning.

Kaley’s real birthday came on Sunday. Jarl and I must have sung “Happy Birthday” to her at least 50 times throughout the day. She got to hang out with the primary since our pianist wasn’t there so I filled in and Jarl filled in for me as the chorister. We made spaghetti for dinner for her since she loves that. She was covered in spaghetti sauce when she was done. She would only eat the spaghetti and wouldn’t even tough the cheese bread we made. Then she got to open presents from us which seemed a bit anticlimactic after Saturday’s deal but she did a better job opening them and enjoying them. I think the socks were her favorites since she carried them around for the rest of the night. Then we put the kids in bed and my brothers Aaron and Sergie came over to play some Band Hero with us. Fun, fun, fun.

The kids are playing birthday this morning and wrapping presents for their babies (dolls) up in odd boxes and blankets. Kaley’s hanging out, climbing the stairs and sliding back down them. She loves just doing her own thing or playing with the kids.

Other highlights this last week included Jarl and I making it to the temple since my parents offered to watch the kids. Matt and Liz did the same thing so all the grandkids had a blast playing together and my parents enjoyed being Grandma and Grandpa. It was nice to go to the temple. It was the first time I’ve been able to go to the Oquirrh Mountain temple. What a beautiful temple.