Procrastinating the day of my....

Sacrament talk. Yes, I should be preparing the talk that I'm supposed to be giving tomorrow, but I figured blogging might help me "mentally" prepare. I promise I'll get started on it as soon as I'm done with this... maybe.

On Saturday(last week), Jason and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Time flies when you're having fun (I think I said that last year). We actually hired a babysitter (it pays to be in the Young Women, to scope out responsible girls to watch our kids) and went out to dinner and went and watch the Bellagio fountains. The music brought back memories of our first date. Jason had a cd with the music of the fountains and he had planned a drive around the lake while we listened to the Bellagio Fountian music and enjoyed the beautiful view. Well, unfortunately it was dark when we got the lake, so we enjoyed the music while starring into the darkness of the lake at night. Really it was a good time chatting, I got to know Jason's story that night as I interrogated him about his previous relationship (hey, inquiring minds needed to know). And he made me laugh... a lot. It was good it ended like that because the first part of the date had been the most intimidating experience of my life. Jason took me ice-skating with his singles ward, and I have never heard so many girls say "hi" to one guy in my entire life. "Hi Jason," "Hey Jason," "What's up Jason?"... I kept thinking, did he bring me here to let me know how cool he is and how lucky I was to be with him? I asked him later on, and he just said he was terrible at planning dates, and didn't know what else we could do. Either way, it worked, we were married 3 months later. I get all sentimental when I think of my husband... I always thank him for asking me to marry him. Who'd have thought I (me, the biggest skeptic of all) could have found my best friend and truest love in 3 months. Okay... I'll stop.

So the rest of this week has been fun. We tried to wait until the pools were open to go swimming, but decided we couldn't so we did the next best thing and went to the part with all the fountains and water features. Jack got a first taste of what summer is going to be like here in Las Vegas...hot and windy. And trying to get a cute picture of everyone is more difficult when it's windy and they're wet.




Then finally, the pools opened today! WOO HOO... we couldn't take the indoor pools any longer. So we took Kimball and Jack to BMAC and let them enjoy a little fun in the sun (don't worry we doused them in sunblock). We are the original pool rats!! By the time we were done... they looked like this...

Kimball just wanted to squish her lips on Jason's shoulder, and Jack was content to just lay in the towel on the soft grass trying to get warm. I've never seen him so mellow.

Now time for the fun videos of the week:

Jack just chilling on the couch, notice the puddle of drool when I back up a little.

Kimball has found a new way to demonstrate her musical tallent... now presenting Kimball and the Bathroom Sink:

Mom's Day and other activities

Happy Mother's Day!!! I love being a mom. Even on all of the other days of the year, when I'm not being celebrated. I'm so grateful for my kids (the ones here and the kids to come)! They are one of the biggest blessing of my life, and make me learn so much.

Now that I am a mom, I really appreciate my own mom. She is amazing. Really, I don't know who else could put up with 8 kids all born within 12 years, and who have given her a more than a few moments of trauma and frustration. I'm also grateful for Jason's mom and how she raised him (and the rest of her 9 kids) to be the people that they are! I'm grateful to be apart of their family. Here's a picture of them both when Jack was born. Happy Mothers Day to you both!

Last week we took Jack swimming for the first time. He loved it! Well, after the initial splashing by some pool rats. But after getting over that shock, he just giggled and kick as much as he could. Kimball also picked up right where she left off from last summer. She is such a fish. She started to turn purple because she got so cold. I was worried about Jack, but he has more "insulation" than Kimball so he stayed a little more comfortable than her.



Other than that, it was a mellow week, with Kimball and Jack learning to play together on the floor. Mostly it's Jack rolling and around and trying to get Kimball if she's with in grabbing distance.







Or Jack trying to do a sneak attack while Kimball is resting.

Here's some video of the pool:

And another of Kimball asleep after all of the Mother's Day activities:

New Skills and Happy Kids

Just random stuff in my attempt to blog almost every week. We'll see how long this can last...

Yes, Jack is finally figuring out how to sit up. He does it as long as he can, then just falls over. He has a great base to balance on (I'm afraid he's inherited his mom's butt and thighs) so he can stay upright very well now. It's fun to see this guy progress. We always tell everyone we can't believe how much he weighs (19lbs at his last check up)... but the poor kid was born after Kimball who only weighed 19 lbs at her 1 year old check up.










He has also become very fond of his play saucer, he will sit in there for a good 20 mins before he looks up to see where everyone is.





Kimball, on the other hand, has become obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Of course, her parents may have helped a little with this obsession. I made the mistake of downloading a few episodes on my ipod, and now she knows that she can watch Mickey almost anywhere... but her favorite spot is her red chair.




And for journaling purposes, I just had to get a picture of her with her "baby." She received this doll for her first birthday, and will randomly dig it out of the toy basket and carry it around with her for hours. She hugs it and pats and gives it kisses. It's really one of the cutest things I've ever seen. She loves babies... and just discovered real babies (no, not with her brother Jack) but with her twin cousins. At dinner yesterday, she went running up to the twins and started saying "BABIES, BABIES!!" and clapping her hands. Crazy girl!

And now... for a new video... featuring the very focused... JACK! Nevermind, it wouldn't upload...I'll try again on the next post.

Temporary Leave of Absence

Yes, I was on a blog hiatus for a little while. I just lost whatever motivation I had to update the blog. But, it isn't from a lack of activity. If anything, it was because I had a lot of stuff happening. Here's a quick sum up for my "family journal" (that's really what this blog is for me).

The week we got home from Dallas, Jason and I (with the wonderful help of his brothers, and one of my brother) packed up and moved. We're still in Henderson, just closer to all of my favorite restaurants. I may never cook again.

Then, Jason was kind enough to give me up for a week (really only 4 nights) so that I could go up to my parents house and hang out with my sister Cally who was on bed rest. We also got to spend Easter up in Midway. We also had the luck of going to a sacrament meeting where Elder Holland just happened to be visiting (he has a home up in Midway). It really was an "Easter Miracle" to get to hear him speak that day. And, for anyone that is wondering... his testimony is just as powerful and passionate while speaking in a ward, as when sharing it during General Conference. What an amazing man! His understanding of the atonement, and his ability to talk about it, always makes me feel the spirit so strong!

*By the way, Cally just had her baby boy last night (6 lbs. 14 oz.). He was born at 11:45pm. He is a pretty big boy considering he was born 4 weeks early. She and Elijah (Eli) are doing great. CONGRATS Cally!!!*

Then 3 days after coming home from Easter, Jason's brother Brandon and his wife Cara, decided to take up the offer of a free birthday in Disneyland. So they drove down, and us being the Disneyland addicts that we are, invited ourselves to go along. We had a great time! It was one of the first times I haven't been pregnant there so we took advantage and made Cara and Brandon watch our kids so we could go on rides. I LOVE Space Mountain, but only once a day. I giggle and scream like a little girl.

Phew... now we're getting back to a more mellow pace, and actually spending more than 7 consecutive days at home. But I'm sure it won't be long until we're dragging our kids out for another road trip.

Here's some pictures to recap:

Kimball and her cousin, Kate, finding new hiding spots while we were moving.

Jack enjoying his carrots.

Kimball matching her Easter egg to her dress.

Did you know that Disneyland has a petting zoo?
Well, it does and it was almost as good as seeing Mickey.

This sheep was HUGE, but Kimball our fearless girl didn't even think to be afraid.

Kimball was too excited to look at the camera.
She's a little infatuated with Mickey, and probably peed her pants when she saw him
(good thing she's still in diapers).

Jack was practicing his carpet flying, and working on soaking the rug with all of drool.
I am relieved to say that he's finally getting his 2 bottom teeth, so maybe that's why he was drooling as much as he was (how do I explain the last 5 months of drool though?)

Kimball found this little recorder and my parents, and figured out how to blow into it after about 15 mins.
She was ecstatic about it. We're just proud that she expanding her musical skills.

Hafen's Do Dallas

We had a fantastic adventure last week, when Jason and I took Kimball and Jack on their first plane ride. We went to Dallas to visit David and Sammy. The kids did great on the plane, both there and back. And we had a fantastic time staying with Sam and David. I was a little worried at first because we decided to stay in their apartment with them, but we all had fun playing games, the Wii, and just watching our kids play together. Here's a couple of pictures and quick recap (check out Sammy's blog for more pictures and details, our camera died the last 2 days there).



Sam and I and Jack at the childrens museum.
A great spot on a rainy day.







Kimball and Ashton pretending to be firefighters at the museum.










Yep, it's still raining. It rained the first 2 days we were there.








Ashton and Kimball with their "plugs" and hanging out the crib together.

And, Jason here at the zoo with his favorite animal. He loves elephants. While we were in Dallas Jason turned 30! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you! And YOU are the best husband ever!

Thanks Sam and Dave, you guys were great hosts! Even though I gained about 5 lbs. No more chocolate-chip cookies for a while.

A Hafen Weekend and Bath Time Fun

This last weekend was chuck full of Hafen Family events. Brandon and Cara were able to come to town, so the family scheduled all of the family events that they could. So here's a run down of the activities.

It started out with Valentines Day cakes on Friday the 13th. This tradition of getting together to decorate heart-shape cakes has been going on for quite a while. It was at this anual event that I met all of Jason's family 6 years ago. Kimball was helping Jason with his cake until she got too tired to even eat the candy we were using.







This was the end result. Jason made his tree of love, and I just thought I'd be plain with the year.



On Saturday, Lowell (Jason's dad) asked if we could all go to the temple as a birthday present. Almost all of the siblings and in-laws made it. It was awesome to see all of us there. It really kind of gave me a glimpse into the eternities.

The activities really kicked into full gear on Sunday. It started out with Aaron and Danette's twin girls getting blessed at 9am, then family dinner at 4pm, then Ashton's baptism at 6pm, and finally Austin's Eagle Scout Court of Honor at 7pm.

The court of honor was very cool because this is the last Hafen boy in Jason's family to get his Eagle Scout Award. Seven boys, it's really amazing... and says alot about the whole family. I know a lot of family members (Aaron and Susan) really helped Austin in this whole process. GOOD JOB everyone!

Then to finish up a fantastic weekend, we all had breakfast on Monday morning at Jason's parents house. It was so fun to be a part of these activities.

Now, here are some videos and pics of my crazy kids.

We just started putting Kimball and Jack in the bathtub together.
This is what happened the first time in.

Does Jack look a little nervous to be in the same tub as Kimball?









Kimball helped Jason make the valentines day cakes.

And, Jack getting some bumbo time and trying to eat some rice cereal. He wasn't a big fan.

Every once in a while I can get Jack laughing pretty loud, and Jason caught it with the camera.

SSDD - Same Stuff Different Day

I don't have anything new to really blog about, so I'm just going to put up some random pictures and videos of the kids.

Here's one of Kimball about to sneeze and Jack just waking up from his nap on the couch (I was about to get Kimball dressed... that's why her pj's are open).








Jack is just starting to yawn as he's waking up. I love the random faces.







And a cute one of Jack, he was in a giggly mood before bathtime last night.

Jack is actually laughing in this clip. It took a little while to capture on camera, but he finally cooperated after days of me making funny noises and faces at him.

Kimball, never to be out done by her little brother, provided us with this moment that was too funny. She just can't wait to grow up.

I can't believe how fast these two are growing up. Sometimes my days seem a little monotonous, but then these two find a way to keep me entertained, and remind me how blessed I am to be home with them! There's no where else I'd rather be!