So thats how rumors get started

Last weekend we drove up to Mesa for Daniels grandmas funeral. Friday we drove straight to the viewing and by the time we finished visiting, then getting dinner and getting the kids to bed, it was 11 o'clock at night. I rushed to get everyone dressed and ready for the funeral the next morning, and once we got to the church my kids were already in emotional distress. My boys are usually pretty wild and crazy, but add to that the lack of several hours of sleep that they usually get- they were monstrous. So during the family prayer both James and Ben are screaming their heads off, so Daniel takes them into the hallway. After the prayer, I went out there and decided that I would take the 2 youngest away so that Daniel could attend his grandmas funeral in peace.

So we drive around for a little while, then come back in time to head over to the cemetery. Kylie is usually the one who can function normally on lack of sleep, but even she had a meltdown. And Tyler was grouchy as can be and then my other 2 were running around jumping on headstones and pulling flowers out of vases all the while screaming at the tops of their lungs. SO MUCH FUN!
So after the cemetery we head back to the church were there is a luncheon. Daniel has about a bajillion relatives. And he claims he doesnt even know most of them. So there are a million people everywhere and I have 4 of the grouchiest sleep deprived kids who are out of control and at this point they are starving and knowing them I know they will refuse to eat whats being graciously served, which will only increase their monstrous moods. So I decide I will let Daniel visit in peace, and i will take the kids to chick fil a, let them eat, then they can play on the play place and hopefully not bring the place crumbling down.
So then Daniel calls me as the luncheon is winding down and asks if I want to head over to his cousins house to catch up with them for a little bit. And as he is talking to me I am wrestling Ben into his car seat and trying to get James into the car and out of the way of a few cars driving by and everyone is screaming and I've beyond had it. So i yell into the phone (in order for Daniel to hear me above the rucous) whatever he wants to do is fine, and quickly hang up so I can try to deal with the kids.
We go back to pick Daniel up, then we drive to his cousins house and Ben finally falls asleep, so I'm like- I'm gonna stay in the car until he wakes up cuz really thats best for everyone involved. So Daniel goes in and all my other kids decide they dont know this guy or his kids and therefor they want to stay in the car with me. After Ben wakes up, we all go in and visit for a few minutes, then we head out so we can go say goodbye to Daniels parents and 2 of his siblings.
So we say our goodbye to them, go get the kids some dinner, and then start the drive back home. Once the kids fall asleep, I finally breathe a sigh of relief and Daniel and I can talk in peace. He tells me his cousin is worried about us. And I ask him why on earth would he be? Then we look back over the past 12 hours. And we laugh. 
I love my married life with Daniel. And everyday I'm so grateful that I have him. But somedays I yell into my phone. Especially when I'm dealing with my 4 wild ones. And now days its gonna be rare for me to be at his side, smiling and looking lovey dovey into his eyes. More often then not I'm trying to keep my kids from destroying everything and each other. It doesnt mean we arent happily married. It just means we are smack in the middle of raising our wild pack of offspring. :)
SO no need to worry dear cousin. All is well.
(But if you wanna offer to babysit for a week- I'm beyond ready for a VACATION!)

Daniels dear Grandma Wheeler passed away this morning, and since this blog is our little family record/journal, I wanted to write down a few of my memories of this dear lady. Sadly I dont have any recent pictures of us with her, but these ones are kind of dear to my heart.

When Daniel and I had our brief 2 months of dating before we got engaged, one thing that I LOVED about Daniel was how cute he was with his grandma. He spoke so highly of her and when I met her for the first time the interaction between them was so sweet and genuine. Daniel cared so deeply, and was right there to take care of any need he could foresee. They would crack jokes all the time, and one that we heard quite frequently was how she wasnt ready to kick the bucket quite yet. She had such a cute sense of humor and always had us laughing.

After we were married we would go visit her a couple times each month. Daniel has a lot of relatives in the Mesa area, and it was kind of a tradition to go to grandmas on Sunday evenings. We did that a few times, and while it was fun for Daniel to see his cousins, he didnt get that one on one time with his grandma, so we tried to visit during the week when he could really visit with her. She was always trying to feed us. ALWAYS. Even right after finishing up a meal. Her freezer was ALWAYS stocked with schwanns ice cream treats, and she wouldnt let us leave until we had both finished off a bar or 2. After we had kids she, again, was ALWAYS trying to feed them. If our baby was fussy- she wanted someone to give that baby some food! While I dont think i found it funny then, I think back now and just laugh.

After we had Tyler, grandma was always calling Tyler "Daniel."  When Daniel would answer "what?" or "yes?"she would give him a funny look and then laugh.  It cracked me up. 

When Daniel and I got married, we being the poor newlyweds that we were, were using Daniels futon mattress as our bed. It's a full size. Now I dont use a lot of bed space. But Daniel being the extremely tall guy that he is was dangling off at all ends. Anyway 2 weeks after we were married we went over to visit, and we were kinda laughing at our sleeping arrangements. Before we left she handed Daniel a few hundred bucks to "help (us) kids out." She had already given us several wedding gifts, but her generosity knew no bounds. 

A few weeks later we had her over for dinner. Now again- being the poor newlyweds, we didnt have a kitchen table. We were using the box that our TV came in. (I think thats what we used our wedding monies on- gotta love our priorities) We had a couple of missed matched chairs and a barstool, and it was really quite the humble looking site, so Daniel apologized. She was quick to complimented us on our creativity. I loved her so much for her loveliness that night. She praised my cooking, and shared in our little newlywed bliss and plans. She was so loving and never once was critical or judgemental or made us feel uncomfortable with the fact we were eating on a box, and had no furniture to our name. 

Grandma Wheeler always asked me about my family. I think she sensed that I hated being so far away from them. I loved that she took that interest and tried to ease some of the homesickness I felt.

Daniels family is VERY affectionate. And i think it stems from his grandma. In my family we hug. So when I first met grandma Wheeler I went to give her a hug, and she pulled me in for a kiss...ON THE LIPS!!! I was STUNNED! Who kisses people on the lips, unless the person is your spouse? And she did it AGAIN when I went to give her a hug goodbye. After we got married and would go to visit- that was always her greeting and farewell. A kiss ON THE LIPS. And while I wasnt comfortable with that and thought it was so weird that she does with EVERYONE and so in turn you were swapping spit with anyone who happened to also be at her house at the same time, there was NO WAY OUT! I tried to go in for a kiss on the cheek cuz that seemed less intrusive even though that was a bit awkward for me too, but NOPE- grandma would grab your chin or shoulders or whatever and pull your face right into hers. I dont kiss my own parents. And I dont even kiss my own babies on their lips-(partly cuz my babies spit up and if you went to kiss them on the mouth- chances are pretty high for getting a mouth full of spit up- also cuz its just WEIRD. Kiss their foreheads, their cheeks, their hands and feet, but lips?  the only person that I think is ok to do that to is Daniel.) So like I said- affectionate family. Thinking about that cracks me up. Sweet Grandma Wheeler. Just trying to share the love I guess.

The last time we saw Grandma Wheeler was at Daniels cousin wedding back in December. She had us busting up in the sealing room in the temple while we were waiting for the bride and groom to come in. But of course you cant really laugh out loud in the temple, so we were shaking from holding it in. She would just blurt out what was on her mind and didnt bother with with the whispering business. One of Daniels cousins was sitting by her and tried reassuring her that they would be in soon, but she certainly let us know that it was taking all day. 

Since grandmas health has been declining for a while, her passing wasnt a surprise, and since she has lived a very full life, we are happy that she is now reunited with her husband and those loved ones that have proceeded her in passing on. But we will certainly miss her and her feisty, yet so loving personality. She was certainly remarkable.

Quick little family reunion

We headed out on the open road last weekend, and got to spend conference and Easter with my dear family. What a trip. Daniel worked around the clock in order to take off a few days, but we are thankful he did so we could spend that time with family. We are usually home for most holidays and such, so it was nice to celebrate with everyone for a change.
My sweet mom watched the kids for us for a few hours on Friday, so Daniel and I could go to the temple. We havent been to the temple in a very very very long time. One thing I think we took for granted when we lived in mesa was the fact the temple was so close and one could easily find a babysitter for a couple of hours, but now its almost an entire day to go, so we havent been able to. That was so refreshing to go and spend that time with Daniel. We got married in that temple and have only been back once since, so it was fun to sit in the celestial room and reminisce about one of our favorite days.
Saturday we colored Easter eggs with a few of the cousins that were also staying at grandmas. unfortunately i didnt quite boil the darn eggs long enough, so we had 2 dozen runny gooey eggs. My bad. But the kids had fun coloring them anyway.
Saturday night we walked outside to a silent snowfall, and woke up to a winter wonderland. I am all about winter wonderlands and glorious snowfalls.... for Christmas. Easter I want tulips, green grass and BLUE skies. It was FREEZING! So we had to do the Easter egg hunt in grandmas basement. The kids had a blast and found all the eggs in a matter of a few minutes, and then proceeded to spend the rest of the day eating candy. We are just trying to do our part to help the dentists of the world.
After watching the uplifting and encouraging conference sessions, everyone of my siblings came over to grandmas house for Easter dinner. It was chaos, but it was so nice to sit and visit with my brothers and sister(s). And we finally nailed down the date for the official Hall family reunion this year. So exciting!
One very special treat about this trip was meeting our newest neice Olivia. She is soo beautiful. She made me even more baby hungry for my own baby girl. I absolutely love her guts. Her already back to her prebaby size mommy(no fair lala- if i didnt love you, I'd have to hate you-) had her decked out in the cutest little outfit, tights and headbow. I wish I had a picture, cuz she seriosuly is just the cutest.
I love being with my family, but after getting to see everyone I am always so sad to be back home, so far away, knowing it'll be months before I get to be with them again. (Hear the violins yet.....cry me a river... I'm very talented at whining :))
So we got back late Monday night, and found a few pictures knocked off our walls, and a few other things out of place and knocked over. Apparently we missed an earthquake while we were gone. we were so thankful that it was minor.
So now we are trying to enjoy the last little bit of spring break. Oh how we missed the sunshine and warm weather. Gotta enjoy it while we can before we are all dying from the heat. say 3 weeks or so?