Friday, May 27, 2016

Alaska 2016

Day 1: Seattle
Our day started off early as we headed to the Airport at 7:00 am to start our Alaskan vacation.  The kids have been asking every day for the past 5 months when this day would come and it finally came!!  Traveling as a group of 12 with 6 kids and 20 pieces of luggage has its challenges but we all made it on the plane without trouble.  I'm always stressed about how Brek is going to fly but luckily he had his "Pa-Pa" to sit by.







After arriving in Seattle things got a little stressful.  We put a little too much faith in the Seattle public Transportation and didn't arrange for a shuttle.  We found our luggage and boarded the Link Light Rail to take us down-town to our hotel.  On our way down town I put the hotel address in my phone GPS and realized we still had to switch to a E-line bus and also do some walking before we could get to the hotel.  The past couple of Jarrett family vacations have always had complications on our first travel day and this trip was no exception.  Trying to get all the kids and luggage on the bus proved to be too much and all that went through my mind was " Why didn't I arrange for a shuttle?!?"  To top it off we had to get off the bus early due to road construction.  Brek refused to get in the stroller and wanted to walk by my dad.  That lasted for about a block until Brek tried walking into traffic.  We had the stroller loaded with luggage but were able to rearrange things so he could sit in the front.  He did not want to ride in the stroller and started screaming and dragging his feet while we pushed it.  We definitely had looks our way and we walked the 12 blocks left.  Just when I thought things couldn't get worse a wheel on the stroller broke while going over  a curb.  I almost started crying but luckily Casey was able to get the wheel somewhat back on.  It clicked the whole way to the Best Western but thankfully it made it.  After dinner Casey and Wyatt walked to Target and bought us a new one. 

Saturday, October 26, 2013

School Carnival 2013

 The PTA puts on a Halloween carnival every other year.  Casey took the kids two years ago while I was to "Thriller" so this was the first year I was able to go with the kids.  I have to say I was a little disappointed and I didn't find it as cool as I did when I was 8.  I offered to help and they put me over the super slide.  When I took over my post a little girl told me they got two slides for 1 ticket and since I hadn't been told different I went with that rule.  It wasn't until the end of the night when a committee member informed me I was doing it wrong.... Ooops...



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Kensie's Spotlight

It was Kensie's turn to be the Kindergarten spotlight.  We filled out her "All about me" page with a self portrait and facts about her.  She is 5 (and 11 months) years old, her favorite food is Mac and Cheese, and her favorite color is Pink.  The best way to describe her is a future domestic goddess.  She loves to help in the kitchen and I catch her organizing all the time.  You wouldn't know it from the looks of her room but she does like to clean.  She loves to take care of people and has been the best help with Brek.  I think its safe to say he is going to feel like he has two mom's.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Welcome Baby Brek

At the end of January we spent the weekend watching Cael wrestle at the Beehive Brawl.  The night we got there I started feeling sick and didn't sleep a wink at the motel.  The next morning Casey said he thought I was pregnant.  I laughed and contributed my sickness to the clam chowder I had the night before.  Well a few weeks later Casey suspicions were confirmed when I found out I was pregnant.  We were actually going to Disneyland that same week and so I had to think of a dozen good reasons to not go on my favorite rides while there.  Nikki did later admit she wondered since I wouldn't go on the Tower of Terror.  Besides that the trip went great and I felt good for the most part.  My first visit ob visit was on April 15 and after a quick ultrasound everything checked out great so we were able to share the good news.  On May 13 we found out we were having a boy which brought Kensie to tears.  Grandma Linda tried to comfort her and told her it would be alright to which she replied "No it won't! i'm not going to have a best friend!"  She thought since it was a boy that Cael would get to hold him and help out more.  I reassured her that they would both get to help out and since she didn't have to share her room we could get her that desk she had been wanting.  That sounded good to her and we never heard her pout again.  I really cant complain about my pregnancies since I don't get too sick.    I craved cinnamon raisen toast and Orange bang almost the whole pregnancy.  Orange Bang was not sold in town and I could not find a place that sold it.  I was talking about it at a baseball game and asked if anyone knew a place I could get some when Dr. Rosenbeck said he knew of a place in Fillmore that sold it.  Well a couple weeks later I was pleasantly surprised when Rosenbeck's showed up at my door with a 32 oz orange bang.  It was fantastic and soon my whole family was on the search for a place that sold it.  Wyatt and my Dad both found gas stations in Santaquin and Sanpete that sold it.  Yumm

On October 1st, 2013 I was scheduled for induction at CVMC by Dr. Bailey.  My OB nurse was Lachelle Aagard and she took such good care of me.  For the most part my labor went well and the epidural worked great almost too great!  I didn't progress much during the morning until Dr. Bailey broke my water.  An hour later Lachelle checked me and I was to a 8.  About a half hour later Lachelle came in with a stressed looked and wanted to check the monitor placement on me because the babies heart rate was dropping.  After adjusting the monitor his heart rate still didn't come up so she had me put the oxygen on.  I was starting to get nervous and was still pain free.  Dr. Bailey was in surgery so Lachelle pulled Dr. Oveson in to check on me.  Now I was really getting nervous.  After 10 years of coding and reading delivery notes I know it's a bad sign if they pull in the ER doc to check on a OB.  He asked if I had been checked because the babies heart rate will slow down when they drop down into the birth canal.  Sure enough I was complete and the baby was down.  My epidural was working so good I couldn't feel a thing which made it difficult to push during the contractions.  I pushed for about 45 minutes before baby Brek made his big debut.




Cael's baseball coach and our good friend Dr. Rosenbeck took care of Brek after the delivery.


We are so thankful for a safe delivery and a healthy Baby boy.  
Brek E. Smith was born at
7' 10"

Monday, September 30, 2013

Last Night of Fall Baseball 2013....

Cael, Alex Jackson, Tate Stephensen, Wes Neilsen, Tyler Hathaway  (front)  Will Harmon, Stockton Garrett, Taylor Newton, Jimmy Rosenbeck, & Carson Adams

It's amazing how much these boys have improved in just one year of accelerated baseball!  Cael loves his team and enjoys playing baseball as much as possible.  Tonight was their last game of the fall season and unfortunately I wasn't feeling up to going.  We have been so proud of Cael and the improvements he has this year.  Go Warriors!









Thursday, August 22, 2013

first day of school

The kids were excited to go meet their teacher.  Cael had requested Mrs. Hanson and was excited that Wes was going to be in his class.
Kensie was excited and nervous for school to start.  When we went to her class room for the first time she immediately got nervous and wouldn't talk to anyone.  Mrs. Painter was so sweet and tried to make Kensie feel comfortable.  A friend of mine that I actually went to preschool with has a daughter named Liz in the class and actually sits right next to Kensie.  I was relieved to know that Kensie would have a sweet girl sitting next to her.  Unfortunately Kensie was in the middle of a anxiety attack and refuse to look or talk to Liz.  I was a little embarrassed and tried explaining to Ally that Kensie was super shy...Like her dad!  I hope Kensie adjusts to Kindergarten and gets use to not having Halle in her class.  I know she relies on Halle's friendship alot and doesn't really try to make friends of her own.  Here's to a good year!










Saturday, August 10, 2013

Juab County Fair 2013

We always look forward to fair week and all the fun events they have planned.  Luckily their aunt Nikki works on projects with them all summer and makes sure they have things to enter.  Kensie loves working on her projects and usually gets more blue ribbons than anybody.  This makes her brother mad, but Nikki claims Kensie spends the most time and it pays off.