Sleeping...

Little Lizzy has been sleeping for nine hours. She's currently sleeping as I type. I'm tempted to wake her and feed her, but she looks so peaceful and content in her little bassinet that I can't bare to move her. This is the longest she's ever slept. While it's wonderful that I got a long night of sleep as well, I want to hold my baby and feed her. Silly, isn't it? I am always looking for time to get things done while she's asleep, or to just relax, and here I am thinking of waking her up.

Liberty Park

The kids and I went to Liberty Park on July 23rd with my sister-in-law, Loralee, and seven of her children. It was a very hot day-- perfect for the kids to play in the water at the park.

Little Lizzy is all ready to go!

A car full of nine children.
Scott and Emma love spending time with their cousins.

No ducks today. How odd.

And off they go!

Thanks Loralee for inviting us! We had a great time.

The Many Faces of Bathtime

Cute Little Twinkle! Six weeks old and she loves baths.

Blueberry Muffins and FHE

Scott and Emma made blueberry muffins for Family Home Evening last Wednesday. We borrowed Stephanie Waite's FHE idea from her blog and focused our own FHE on reading the scriptures and following directions from our Heavenly Father. For the activity and object lesson, Scott and Emma had to read the instructions on the muffin box and follow the instructions step by step. They were expected to make the muffins by themselves and only ask Brad and me for help when they needed advice. They did remarkably well, and only needed our help a few times. We had our gospel discussion while the muffins were baking and the kids came up with their own ideas on how we can "read the instructions" in our lives.

Heavenly Father gives us directions to return to Him through the scriptures, modern day revelation, and through our own personal revelation. Without guidance it would be really hard to know how to return to Him someday, just like it would be really hard to make a box of muffins if we didn't have the instructions. When we need help to understand the "instructions" we can go to our Heavenly Father in prayer and ask for advice. How well the muffins turn out in the end depends on how well and how willing we are to follow the instructions given.

Scott and Emma had a wonderful time making the muffins, and the muffins turned out really well, too. It was a great Family Home Evening idea.

Lots of Smiles

One-month-old Lizzy has been giving us lots of smiles lately. Most are not genuine "I'm happy" smiles, but I believe some of them are. Last Saturday, Lizzy gave me what I believe to be her first distinct social smile after we came home from lunch. Brad put Lizzy's car seat on our bed and I went over to see her and unstrap her. As soon as her eyes locked on my face, Lizzy gave me a little squeal and a huge smile which grew into more smiles as I began talking to her. She is so adorable!

Elizabeth's Blessing

Elizabeth's baby blessing was on Sunday, July 5th at our ward's church building. Her daddy gave her the blessing, which was very touching and spiritual. My whole immediate family flew in from California to be there, and Brad's parents and older brother and sister were also there with their families. Little Lizzy looked so adorable in her beautiful white and pink lace dress her aunt Loralee made for her. Brad bore his testimony during fast and testimony meeting following the blessing. It was a special day! We love our little Lizzy!

Family in Town

Nothing beats spending time with family, especially family who visit out-of-state. My parents, sisters, and brother-in-law all flew in from California to spend time with me and the rest of the North family. I was thrilled to have them here. Susie flew in first on June 23rd and stayed for two weeks. The rest of my family came for the 4th of July weekend. Here's a few pictures of the fun times we had:

University of Utah
Susie has been considering the possibility of attending medical school at the University of Utah in the near future, so went up to the U of U on June 23rd to take a self guided tour. We all went, including two-week-old Lizzy, who looked absolutely adorable and tiny.







Temple Square
The following Saturday, Brad and I took Susie up to Temple Square to spend time with her former missionary companion. While we were there we went to a Vietnamese restaurant and to the Church History Museum. Afterward, we drove to the Salt Lake City Cemetery. We briefly glanced at the graves of several church leaders before we stopped at President Hinckley's grave. It was a little strange changing a baby's diaper right next to the grave a former prophet, but Lizzy insisted it was necessary.

Jordan River Parkway
Sunday the 28th we went to the Jordan River Parkway. The parkway was gorgeous and we had a wonderful time being together. Susie especially liked it and decided to return again several times to ride my bike along the river. She is used to cycling along the San Gabriel River in Southern California, which looks nothing like Utah's Jordan River. The San Gabriel is basically a huge concrete canal with a small trickle of water-- not nearly as pretty as this.





Wheeler Farm
We went to Wheeler Farm in Murray the Friday before the 4th of July. Rachel, Craig, and my parents were all here at this time. It was nice being together, walking along the trails, climbing trees, and looking at all the farm animals. We took lots and lots of photos.
















Independance Day Breakfast Celebration
The 4th of July was a fun-packed day. We went to a 4th of July breakfast at the Stake's recreational property in the morning. The food was continental style and very yummy. Rachel, Craig, and Brad played volleyball after breakfast, and Scott and Emma had fun playing carnival games at the different booths set up. The favorite activity was a three-legged race that Scott, Emma, Rachel, Susie, and even my dad participated in.







Fireworks
Fireworks were a fun activity for our family on the 4th of July. It's illegal in Long Beach to shoot off fireworks, so my sisters and I did not have many opportunities to do that growing up. We all enjoyed setting them off this year.




Overall, the last two weeks were wonderful to me! I love spending time with my family. I miss them now that they are gone, but we'll be together again soon.