2017 In Review!

(7 minute review slideshow)

Hello from the Hamiltons! 

We hope 2017 has found you healthy and happy. We feel very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Here is our short update for 2017:

FAMILY: 

*The Potts family retreat was in January in Southern Utah.  We had a wonderful time, including a trip to Tonaquint Park, golfing for the boys, ice skating, movie watching, swimming, playing games, Discovery Park, singing at a care center, going to glitter mountain, and lots of eating and visiting.

*In February, we attended two funerals :( One for Heidi's Uncle Burton's baby, who died at a month old. One for Heidi's Uncle Richard. There was a lot of traveling. We are grateful for family & our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation

*We enjoyed a good amount of "camping" this year :) We stayed in a tiny Forest Service cabin in Pineview in April, we stayed in our old trailer in Mapleton in May, In July, we camped in a cabin at Fishlake for a week, and in October we got to stay in the Benson cabin for a few days. We love spending time in the outdoors!

*In June we went to the Grand Canyon for the day and were left in awe! It was really amazing!

*We did some fun races this year - Mom & Grandpa Potts did the Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon & Cedar Half marathon, while Jason & the girls did the 5ks. 

*We had LOTS of big birthdays this year! Daddy turned 40, Oaklyn turned 1, McKinley turned 12, and Kezia turned 8! 

*In September, after a year of the girls giving up half their birthday $, half their allowances, half their Christmas, and also doing a lemonade stand and selling some things, WE WENT TO DISNEYLAND! We enjoyed 3 days at Disney, 1 day at Universal, and a day at the beach. Mom & Dad just took the 3 older girls & the littles stayed with Grandma & Grandpa Potts. It was a wonderful time & we made so many great memories!

*Added new members to our family - Truly, Zhane, and Daizy the puppy dog!

*Our Cedar City Temple is completed!!!! This is HUGE news for us and we celebrate and offer gratitude every day for this BEAUTIFUL, amazing, blessing! It is only a mile from our home!

*One other fun thing this year - we downloaded the Marco Polo app and have had so much fun sending videos back and forth to loved ones near and far and getting to see what they're up to as well! We have felt so much more connected with family and friends!

*If you know our family, you know we're HUGE Studio C fans. In line at DL, we played "which Studio C episode?" with lines from the shows. It was a lot of fun. We never miss a new episode :)

JASON: Jason turned 40 this year! Heidi threw him a (kind of) surprise party in St.

George at her parents house. Lots of people showed up, we watched a "this is your life" slideshow, we wrote 40 things we love about Jason, and Cindy even made him a toilet cake that said "You're older than crap!" :) For his 40th birthday, we went to the Deff Leappard/Poison concert with Jeff & Keeley. It was a lot of fun! Jason stays busy with his calling (Elder's Quorum President) and work (Admin Officer at the Dixie National Forest), but finds time to be a wonderful husband and dad & we are so thankful for him! At the end of the year, he took on our healthy habit challenge and rocked it! He's hitting the gym almost every day and doing great. We love you Jason! 

HEIDI: In January, Heidi enjoyed kidnapping her sister Cindy with her other sister for a couple days to celebrate her 40th birthday. They saw a play, went shopping, watched movies, went to a bookstore, and just enjoyed talking.  Jason took the girls so Heidi could & she enjoyed it so much! Heidi got called to be the Primary Secretary in June, and has been busy with that calling, but enjoys getting to see her girls in church on Sunday. She also went to her 20-year WJHS class reunion in June. It was fun to see some familiar faces and catch up :) Heidi decided to start a little hiking group and went hiking almost every week for a few months after the girls went back to school in August. It was awesome! Very soul-filling :) Heidi continues to have bad luck in the phone department & went through 2 phones this year. She has been listening to inspirational books, and reading novels, and loving it. For Christmas in 2017, Heidi finally made the Ancestor ABC book that she's been wanting to do for so long & she learned so much! In 2018, Heidi is looking forward to going on more hikes & spending more time outdoors. Her goals are all deeper connections with her loved ones here and on the other side, her home, and her body. 

McKINLEY: At the beginning of the year, McKinley played Mrs. Mayor in her school's production of Suessical Jr! She did so great! McKinley started Cedar Middle School this year! And is in 6th grade. She turned 12 in September and is really enjoying Young Women and she's been to do baptisms at the temple three times already! Her first time going, Grandpa & Grandma Potts & GG Tew came! McKinley got to have a birthday party this year and invited all her friends for her book themed birthday party - it was a great time! McKinley has really been excelling in piano! She played "Baptism" at Kezia's baptism program and did great, and she played a beautiful Christmas song for the Ward Christmas  Party. She also is doing great in cello, making the intermediate orchestra - we love to watch her perform and we love to listen to her practice. McKinley tried out volleyball this year  and learned a lot and had fun with her teammates! McKinley is in the National Honors Society in middle school and she also finished the Book of Mormon this year!! Another amazing thing McKinley got to be involved in this year was the cultural celebration for our new temple! She, along with 3,600 other youth, sang and danced for our church leaders (Elder Eyring, Holland, etc) and it was beautiful! McKinley got her dream come true this year and got a puppy dog! She is a 15 week-old 75% golden retriever and very beautiful. McKinley just loves her and is so cute with her.  We are all so proud of our beautiful, talented, kind, and smart girl and are so thankful for her in our lives.  She is growing up so fast and is only a couple inches shorter than mom! Some of McKinley's favorite friends: Karmiyah, Olivia, Addison, Micaela, and Lizzy. In 2018, McKinley is looking forward to going to Girls Camp. Her goal is to do at least 8 personal progress experiences. 

IRELAND: Ireland is "Queen of the elementary" this year at North, and enjoying it very much! She is in Mrs. Brown's 5th grade class & enjoys having her as a teacher. Ireland turned 10 in July and got her ears pierced! She was very brave and has LOVED wearing lots of different kinds of earrings, especially the "3D" kind. Ireland is still loving gymnastics and moved on to level 3 this year! We are so proud of her & love to watch her work on her skills! Ireland read the Harry Potter books to book 4 this year and she is a Harry Potter fan :) Ireland took an art class after school and learned a lot and made some beautiful things! Some of Ireland's favorite friends are Mahina, Hannah, Elle, and Zoe. In 2018, Ireland is looking forward to the Potts Retreat and her goal is to move up to the next level in gymnastics!

KEZIA: Kezia is in 2nd grade and still rocking dual immersion. We love to watch her and her daddy have Spanish conversations and we love hearing her sing her Spanish songs. She is at a 6th grade reading level and very smart! But her teachers always tell us how kind she is, and that we are even prouder of her for that. She did soccer in the spring, and got purple jerseys AGAIN!! :) She did awesome and we love to watch her play! Kezia really got into reading Heidi Hecklebeck books and has read a bunch :) Kezia turned 8 on October 26th and had a costume Halloween/Birthday party that weekend with lots of her friends! We made scary treats, played charades, did musical chairs, ate pizza, had homemade root beer, and did gifts. It was a lot of fun! She got baptized on November 4th and afterwards we went to the Cedar City Temple open house - it was SUCH a special day!  In 2018, Kezia is looking forward to (Maybe!) Lagoon. And a goal she has is in 2018 is earning money for hospitals. 

LINK: Link would have turned 5 years old on November 7th. We continue to send gifts in his name on his birthday, and we continue to do temple work to honor him as well. We feel like the Cedar City Temple is a LOVE NOTE from Heavenly Father AND Link! Mom feels so close to him there - especially as the rainbows shine onto the walls from the stain glass windows :) Mom is hoping to do more in 2018 to assist families to have lost babies to SIDS and hopes Link will help her there, too. We felt Link's love, guidance, and protection on many occasions this year & pray he will continue to stay close to us. 

NOELLE: Noelle turned 3 on April 8th, and she likes to tell everyone that's her birthday :) After she turned three, just to assure us that she was not completely out of the "terrible twos," she decided to "sharpie" the entire basement. Walls, couches, toys, light switches, doors, etc. It was rather amazing the destruction she caused and mom ended up painting the entire basement! She is quite a mischief-maker and continues to keep us on our toes! She is super bright and easily memorizes books. She has started to really "read," though and is working through some BOB books and doing great! She also knows how to write her name, though sometimes she forgets letters :)  We LOVE that Noelle loves her brother, Link, and talks about him frequently. She says "Link is my brother! He loves me, and I love him!" Another thing we love about Noelle is how she LOVES to watch sunrises & sunsets. She will run into mom & dad's room and pull them into the living room to watch the sunrise, or she will pull them to the porch to watch the sun set. Since she is our "sunrise girl," this is very appropriate :) She still loves watching Dora the Explorer, and she loves Daniel Tiger, too.  She enjoyed hikes with mom this year! Noelle is getting bigger and asking more and more for friend dates. She talks a lot about her friends Katelyn, Caleb, Kali, and James. In 2018, she's looking forward to turning FOUR! She's going to get a birthday party and she'll get to go down the big yellow slide! (finally!). She's also looking forward to going to preschool.  One goal she has is to read harder books and ride her tricycle by herself! 

OAKLYN: Ohhhh, baby cuteness! (that's what we call her) We love you! Oaklyn turned one in August and is, of course, the baby of our family and therefore can do no wrong. She says about 15 words, including happy! (she says this one over & over again), mom, dada, Daizy, Sydney, , uh-oh, book, hey, wow, and hi! She was our earliest walker, at 10 months, and now is running all over. She doesn't have the best immune system, and seems to get runny noses constantly, and at the end of the year, got fevers and had issues with her hand being swollen. But overall, she is a wonderful, happy baby. At almost 17 months, Oaklyn likes to play in the dog water, take all the cups out of the drawer again & again, climb on to EVERYTHING (she's had quite a few bumps & bruises), play with the dogs, color on things, and put things in her mouth. Oaklyn is lacking in the hair department at the moment, but it looks like it will be blonde and it is CURLY in the back! We love that & pray she keeps it! She also looks like she's going to have green eyes - they are so pretty :) Oaklyn can point to many body parts and she loves cuddles and kisses. She still does the scrunchy-nose smile that we all can't get enough of. She has started to be picky about eating, but if you put grapes or pancakes or a sucker in front of her, watch out! She wants them - and fast!! 

Merry Christmas 2016!!

(this is a 12 minute 2016 in review slideshow)

Hope everyone reading this has had a peaceful 2016, full of love. We look back on 2016 with gratitude. Here are some highlights:

-Going to the huge Bear Lake cabin for the Potts Family Retreat. Snowmobiling, sledding, watching movies, playing games, going to church & visiting & having fun! 

-The Bargers (Dustin's family & Yvetta) came up from Texas in March for Spring Break & we LOVED spending time with them -  we did the St. George park, the St. George Children’s Museum, the Pizza Factory, Pioneer Park, Zions National Park, the Parowan Gap, swimming, movie night, tubing at Brian Head, lunch at the Brick House, and a birthday dinner bash at our house for Yvetta, Dustin & Camri (16!)

-We also had visits from the Potts, the Simons & the Edwards! & loved exploring Zions, going swimming, and spending time together. We love when people come visit!

-We were SO excited when we learned that the newly retired Potts (Heidi's parents) were not just going to be visitors, but NEIGHBORS! They bought a second home in St. George and we have enjoyed their company so much this year, it's been fabulous!

-We had a fun summer with our daily themes, making crafts, summer treats, hiking, etc. 

-August 3, 2016 was a big day for our family! We welcomed our 6th child, Oaklyn Alice Hamilton into our family. She is so adorable and we are so thankful Heavenly Father sent her to us! 

-The end of October, our family earned a trip to Lagoon by choosing kindness over contention! (we put fuzzy balls into a huge container). We had a great time at Lagoon and are grateful we got to go! We also got to go to the Benson cabin after that & enjoyed our time there, 4-wheeling, playing games, going on the paddle boat & visiting with our best friends :)

Jason: We are so proud of daddy this year. He received a much-deserved promotion to the Admin Operations Specialist job here on the Dixie NF. He's working a bit more, but we are grateful for the extra salary and for his devotion & dedication to our family. He also stays very busy being the Elders Quorum President - he loves his elders and is a wonderful leader. He also is good about working around the house & fixing things, as well as at our rental. What a good daddy & husband he is. We are all so blessed to have him.

Heidi: Heidi spent a good deal of this year being pregnant and then up at night with a tiny one, so productivity was not the highest :-/, but she wouldn't trade it for the world. She read some great books, went on some beautiful hikes, visited with some wonderful people, served in Activity Days with some great leaders & girls,  made a lot of birthday books, and gave birth to a tiny, gorgeous baby girl. She also had carpal tunnel surgery on both of her hands this year & that has helped with sleeping and functioning, especially at the end of her pregnancy. At the beginning of November, she joined the gym & has had fun taking some classes. Her favorite memories from 2016 were Oaklyn's birth and the couple getaways we had - including a couple days in a bed and breakfast in Provo and a night at a hotel in December. In 2017, she's looking forward to the Cedar City Temple completion, hopefully going to Disneyland, and running a couple races with her dad. 

McKinley: McKinley turned 11 this year and is queen of North Elementary school in 5th grade - in Miss Isom's class. McKinley loves everything music - she's taking piano and voice (both of which she is a complete natural at), she's in the ward choir (even though none of her family are!), she is in 5th grade orchestra, playing the cello (doing great!), and she just loves listening to music and singing in general. McKinley continues to excel in school & is looking forward to some more challenging concepts in middle school next year. Her favorite friend is Micaela Adams.  McKinley went to a sewing camp and Girls Go Digital this summer and learned a lot & had fun at both! McKinley's favorite memories this year are being present at Oaklyn's birth, and going to Lagoon! In 2017, McKinley is most looking forward to starting middle school, going to the temple, and Disneyland. 

Ireland: Ireland turned 9 in July and is in Mr. Sahagun's 4th grade class. Ireland loves recess and her favorite friends at school are Mahina (who is finally in her class!), Hannah, and Raquel. Ireland is a great runner & is great at gymnastics as well - she does a backbend kick-over, is SO CLOSE with her middle splits, and is doing great on the bars. She has being doing SUU gymnastics almost all year and loves it. Ireland is a great artist as well & loves to draw fashion girls, animals, and landscapes. She finally got braces this year & looks too grown up! She loves her 2nd cousin who lives in Texas, Kaydence, and is pen pals with her! Her favorite memory of 2016 is Oaklyn being born (she LOOOOVES babies!) and going to the Benson cabin with her great friend Sienna. In 2017, Ireland is looking forward to getting her ears pierced & her goal is to get to Level 2 in gymnastics. 

Kezia: Kezia turned 7 in October and is in 1st grade. This is her first year attending East Elementary's dual immersion program, leaning Spanish. She wasn't really excited about going, but has done SO well & learned so much! We love hearing her sing her Spanish songs and read her Spanish books. Thankfully, daddy knows Spanish & has been a big help. Also - Macie (her friend from Kindergarten) is in her class & she has so much fun with her and her new friend Ivy. Kezia has done amazing in school. For reading she is at a 4th grade+ reading level and is way ahead in math, too, working on her multiplication.  Kezia did soccer in the spring, and their team (Purple Power!) was undefeated again! She did swimming lessons in the summer & did really well & gets to go to the next level! Kezia is a fabulous performer and loves to sing loud and dance loud ;) Kezia's love language is GIFTS - she is constantly giving them, and LOVES when she gets them, too. She has loads of boy crushes :) Kezia's favorite memory from 2016 is going to the Bear Lake cabin and Lagoon! Kezia is looking forward to Disneyland next year and getting baptized. Her goal is to get to level 3 in swimming and tying her shoes.

Link: Link would have turned 4 on November 7th. This year we decided to do something special and send Matchbox cars to all the little boys we could find that are close to four years old. We sent about 30 cars & loved seeing all the #LoveforLink posts, videos, and texts. It was so neat to share his story with them & send them a special car. We still talk about Link every day, share his story, look for rainbows, and anticipate the day we can be with him again.

Noelle: Noelle turned 2 in April and is a simultaneous joy and terror :) She speaks so well, many people think she's older than she is. She loves cars and trucks, puzzles, books, being outside, going for walks, Daniel Tiger, Dora, loving on her sister Oaklyn, her doggie and binki, playing with her sister's friends, and seeing her grandparents.  She also loves drawing on almost anything other than paper, pulling hair, pushing, pinching, screaming, a complete lack of patience, and making messes. She is very familiar with time-out.  Noelle knows how to count to 10, all of her basic colors, almost all her alphabet, and can put together about 40 of the 50 states on a puzzle & knows about 12 names of the states. We love her smile, her energy, and how gentle and loving she is with Oaklyn. She loved Lagoon and all the hikes we went on. We don't hardly have to put her in the hiking backpack - she can go for miles. She moved from the crib to a BIG girl bed - sleeping with Kezia in her queen sized bed - she's had struggles, but has done well! We love our sunrise girl! Noelle's goals for 2017 include being potty trained, and getting rid of her binki. 

Oaklyn: Oaklyn is 4 months old and is the constant center of attention in our family. She does this adorable scrunchy-nose smiles and her laughs are just too cute. She rolls from her tummy to her back and reaches for anything and everything to put in her mouth. She just started solids and so far hasn't met a food she won't eat! Her cheeks get constant kisses and she doesn't get put down a whole lot. She just made this family a whole lot cuter, there's no denying it. We think her favorite memory from 2016 was being born and she (and her mom) are looking forward to sleeping through the night in 2017! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2016!! Love, The Hamiltons

Merry Christmas 2015

*7 Minute slideshow*

The years seem to fly by and we can hardly acknowledge the possibility that 2015 is over! Overall, 2015 was a really fantastic year for us. Here are some of the highlights:

-In January, we went to Bear Lake for the annual Potts Retreat. Grandma & Grandpa rented this ENORMOUS cabin that had slides from floor to floor, an indoor trampoline & basketball court, theater room, etc. They also got snowmobiles for us to enjoy. It really was a fantastic trip and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The girls haven't stopped talking about it and are VERY much looking forward to a repeat of the fun next year.

-We made a trip to Texas in April to be with Jason's family for his Uncle Joe's funeral. It had been over 7 years since we'd been down there, so it even though the drive was very long, it was so worth it to be able to spend some time with his Texas family. We sure love them & miss them!

-Right after that trip, we sold our home & moved one street over.  Same neighborhood, ward, and schools, but smaller, fully finished home on a less-busy street. The first Cedar home we lived in was too small (Greenslake Dr.), the next home we lived in (Ridge Rd) was too big, but this one is juuuuuust right :) We have really loved settling in here. Each of the girls has their own room & that has been really nice. The only downsides are the lack of grass and the garage is only big enough to fit our van, not the truck. But all-in-all, we love it!

-We also were able to purchase a rental home by SUU with my parents. There has been an SUU housing shortage this year, so we had LOTS of interest when the upstairs space went on the market, but we ended up finding a great renter and we are so thankful for this opportunity. We are learning lots about having a rental!

-At the beginning of August, Jason & Heidi took a belated, though much-anticipated trip, to Prince Edward Island - by Nova Scotia, Canada -  to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. The girls went to stay with Grandma Potts as well as the Edwards & had a great time while mom and dad just had such a wonderful, cherished, perfect time in PEI. Heidi loved all the Anne of Green Gables things (we actually read it while we were there) and Jason loved the beaches & the food. We both just loved getting to be together & enjoy nature and spending time together.

-As a family, we enjoyed reading Heidi, Anne of Green Gables (& watching the movies), Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone, and The Mouse & the Motorcycle.

-Even without our trailer, we enjoyed some decent outdoor time, including "tenting-it" in Mapleton, the Benson cabin, & some fun hikes: Kanarraville Falls, Spring Creek,  Hidden Haven, Ensign Peak , and hiking the "C" trail.

Jason: Jason continues to do well with his job and got a raise in March. He was called to the Elder's Quorum this year and has enjoyed teaching and helping people move and getting to know the elders. In his free time, he enjoys riding his dirt bike, watching football (live or on TV), and fishing when he has the chance. He has been good at taking care of things with our vehicles, our home, and the rental. Jason started working out with some guys from the ward & has enjoyed doing TRX, P90X & some other workouts. Jason's favorite memory from 2015 is spending time with Heidi on PEI. He looks forward to spending more time outdoors in 2016.

Heidi: Heidi enjoyed completing a sprint distance triathlon in April (just missed placing in her age group) at Sand Hollow and a 5k later on in the year in Salt Lake. She also gets together a few times a week with some girls from the ward to workout in the mornings.  She has enjoyed her mornings with Noelle and has also been trying to get ahead in some things like family history, organizing, and service. She still enjoys reading & has read quite a few books this year. Her 3 callings keep her pretty busy: Relief Society meeting publicity coordinator, activity days leader & visiting teacher. Heidi's favorite memory from 2015 was PEI, hands-down. It was such a perfect vacation and she loved every minute. Heidi is looking forward to a lot in 2016, including hopefully getting another trailer! One goal for 2016 is making anniversary books & an ancestor ABC book.

McKinley: McKinley turned double-digits this year - the big 10! And with that birthday came the rite of passage in our family to get her ears pierced. We went to Walmart on her birthday and she chose blue butterflies (her birthstone). She is in 4th grade this year, but is in a 4th/5th class. This is the first year she's had a boy teacher and she really loves Mr. Sahagun! She often talks about the funny things he says in class. He's good about letting her excel in Math and reading and he loves having her in his class. Her favorite friends at school are Maddilyn also known as DG( dimple girl MrSahagun made that name up) and Tayzia and Isis                       and her crush (for the second year in a row) is Orlando. McKinley got to go to a Girls Go Digital Camp in the summer for a couple days. She REALLY loved it, learned a lot & had so much fun. She is already talking about going back next year.   McKinley started piano & voice in June with a lady in our stake, Jan Pressgrove, that comes to our home, which is great. McKinley has progressed so much & her teacher says she is just such a natural that we're going to need to be constantly buying more challenging books for her. She also loves singing and got to sing a solo in the Primary Program. She also sang at Ireland's baptism as well as a girl in our ward. She decided to join the ward choir a couple months ago and she's the youngest member. Mom and dad aren't going, so she's pretty brave to go all by herself, but everyone talks about what a great singer she is & how she LOVES music. We love our McKinley & are so proud of her. Her favorite memory from 2015 is the Bear Lake Cabin and she's most looking forward to the Bear Lake Cabin in 2016 :). One goal for 2016: to master 5 Hymns from the Hymn book.

Ireland: Ireland turned 8 years old this year and had her big birthday bash and baptism. Many family members showed up and we loved watching her get baptized and celebrating at a small park near our home with an 18 foot water slide! We invited all our friends in the neighborhood & there was quite a turnout. Her rite of passage at 8 was to get baptized and also get a tablet, which she has enjoyed :) Ireland is in 3rd grade this year, in Mrs. Strother's class. She really likes Mrs. Strother & Mrs. Srother gave so much praise to Ireland in her SEPs. Ireland is such a top reader & has done so well at math, too. We are so proud of her! Her favorite friends are Mahina, Anna, and Lindsey. Ireland started Activity Days this year and she loves getting to see her friends, her mom, and do some fun activities, crafts, and service projects. Ireland did gymnastics in the summer time again with Julie and almost had her back-walkover and she could walk on her hands 8 times! She also did soccer in the fall - she learned a lot, had fun, and made new friends! We are proud of how far she came and how she never gave up. Ireland's favorite memory from 2015 is her big birthday party and she's most looking forward to having another fun birthday in 2016. One goal for 2016: finishing the Book of Mormon.

Kezia: Kezia started Kindergarten in September and turned 6 years old in October. Kezia had like 6 neighborhood friends going to Kindergarten at South Elementary this year, so we figured at least one or two would be in her class, but amazingly they were ALL in the other class! It's okay, though, because we love Mrs. Ekker and Kezia has got to make new friends (Macy and Ruby), while still getting to see her other friends (Paige, Laura, Courtney, Spencer, Emi, and Rachel) at recess and on the bus. The struggle with Kezia in Kindergarten is giving her a challenge. She has read almost 10 Magic Treehouse books and is much more advanced than many kids. They have an SUU student that reads more challenging books with her and they give her computer time that will challenge her, but we are considering sending her to East Elementary next year for first grade, so she can do the dual immersion program and really get some extra challenge. Kezia did swimming lessons again in the summer and really progressed! She was in a more advanced class & the teacher wasn't sure at first if she should be in there, but by the end, she had really proved herself. She did soccer in the fall with Laura and Macy and Maylee and had such a blast. Their team was called the Purple Butterfly Princesses and they were an awesome team! They won every game and more importantly, had fun together. Kezia would just constantly be laughing and giggling as she ran down the field. But she was great, too, and made quite a few goals. We are so proud of her - way to go Kezia! Kezia continues to be our creative girl, making creations, writing "stories," drawing pictures, and giving lots of gifts.
Kezia's favorite memory from 2015 is 7 Peaks Water Park and she's most looking forward to Bear Lake in 2016. One goal for 2016: read 13 more Magic Treehouse books.

Link: Link would have turned three on November 7th this year. It was a tough birthday for me. We sure miss him and would have loved to see him running around, opening gifts, blowing out candles, smiling and laughing. He is still such a part of our family and we still talk about him constantly. We love to do things to remember him, including doing family history, going to the temple, doing the May walk of remembrance, the wave of light, and doing service on his birthday. Link sends us many love notes to brighten our days and give us hope, like heart-shaped rocks and other items, shooting stars, dreams,  songs that come on the radio, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, and of course rainbows. He welcomed Jason & I to PEI with a beautiful rainbow. And we love how others send us pictures when they see rainbows and remember our Link. We love to wear our Link shirts & tell others his story. We love to visit his bench regularly. We are so thankful for him in our family and deeply anticipate the day that we will be reunited with him.

Noelle: At 20 months, Noelle is looking and acting more like a little girl than the baby that we keep calling her. Her hair is down past her shoulders and she is talking in 3 and 4 word sentences. She can do some counting and can sing a lot of the ABC song and can point to many of the letters. She knows probably 15 body parts and likes to sing Twinkle Twinkle. Her favorite show is still Signing Time, but she also likes CHU CHU TV and is watching Dora more and more. She's really starting to want to play My Little Pony & Barbie with her older sisters and be with them and she especially loves it when her sisters friends come over. She started nursery a couple months ago & she's still not sure about it. She loves to play with the toys, but she doesn't love it when mom leaves. One of the other kids' dads comes in, though, and she just loves him and is fine when he's there. Overall, she's quite a mommy's girl and wants to be constantly by her. She loves her daddy, though, and gets so excited when he comes home. She loves to come into her sisters' rooms in the morning to sing them their good morning songs and give them hugs and kisses. She also still loves Sydney the dog (still a little to much) and our bunny Rainbow Truck. She loves to go "buh-bye" and always wants to be going somewhere & doing something. Now, all this adoreableness has to come with some downsides. She LOVES to put things in the toilet, throw food on the floor, make paint messes, take out everything in the kitchen drawers, and mess up Kezia's bookshelf every day, but it's all a small price to pay for all the joy she gives us :) We love our Noelle-my-Belle. Noelle's goal for 2016: Take on potty training :)

2014 Year in Review

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. 2014 was a very healing year for our family. We still very much grieve the loss of our Link - but time and the addition of Noelle has brought some peace and joy to our hearts. We have grown in so many ways and witnessed so many tender mercies this year that we cannot deny how blessed we are and how much our Heavenly Father loves us and watches over us, along with our baby boy.

Here are some of our family highlights for 2014:

-McKinley had an emergency appendectomy in January. Her appendix had already been ruptured for 2-3 days before we found out, so we are thankful she is okay!

-LOTS of back and forth between Salt Lake and Cedar! I counted 7 trips we took up North and 7 times the Potts family came down here! We also made trips to Richfield & St. George to hang out with Jason's family. Thankful for so much family time!

-Watching the winter Olympics!

-The girls all chopping 12-14'' off their hair!

-Noelle Eve's entrance in our family - 4/8/2014

-Benson's visit

-We've worked HARD to get the side yard done on our house. What used to be a steep sage-brush filled hill is now leveled off with retaining walls, 2 long garden boxes with an automatic watering system, a nice RV pad and rock that goes through the RV pad, down the path & between the garden boxes. It looks SO wonderful! Especially compared to how it started! We had a pretty good garden crop, too! - especially for our first year. 

-We've also been updating our home - changing out the "cabin" theme (though we are keeping that decor in case we do get a cabin one day) to a more modern, clean look. It's taken time & some guidance, but things are looking really great & we are loving the cleaner look and layout. 

-We went on a few wonderful camping trips before we sold our trailer this year :( Hope to get another one next year. 

-Our family sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" in the primary program this year.

-In October, for fall break, we went to Capitola, California!! We stayed in a beautiful beach house just a couple blocks from the beach. It was peaceful, magical, and healing. The perfect getaway. The girls loved hanging out and playing in the ocean. And the weather was almost too good to be true! We are so thankful for the amazing generosity that made that trip possible!!

*PLEASE SEE THE BOTTOM FOR A SLIDESHOW WITH PICTURES OF THESE HIGHLIGHTS :)

Jason:

Jason has really done a lot in his budget/finance position and earned a lot of respect there. A detail opportunity came available for a fleet management position in October and so he is currently performing that job and looking to possibly gain that job permanently. He really enjoys his job and the people he works with and all he is learning. He has also been a loving presence to two families in the forest service who lost children in 2014. Jason also enjoys his callings in the church - he is a scout leader and worked with both the priests and teachers. He had some really fun adventures, including a caving trip and a 50-mile hike in the High Uintas.  Jason says his favorite thing about 2014 was our baby being born. And he's most looking forward to the possibility of getting the permanent gs-11 position. 

Heidi:

Heidi continues to work through the mix of emotions that comes with still grieving plus learning to accept the joy that comes into her life as well - especially since the addition of Noelle to our family. She definitely does not fill the hole that Link left, but the amount of joy she has brought is amazing! Having a baby to hold, smell, kiss, etc is so healing. Heidi still spends much of her time running (she ran a half marathon with her dad in September), reading (afterlife books and fantasy books are her mainstay), engaging in support groups (both the share group locally and her SIDS mom group), working on birthday books, newsletters, and embracing the joys of parenthood - both the older ones with the projects, homework & field trips, and the younger ones with dolls, songs, diapers, and meals. Heidi worked in the primary this year until about August. Now, she is focusing on the Relief Society activity committee - she is the publicity coordinator & is in charge of the activity posters and invitations. Heidi also spends a good deal of her time being a human taxi - taking/picking up for both Kezia's preschool and North Elementary. Heidi's favorite memory from 2014 was our trip to Capitola. In 2015, she's looking forward to our 15 year anniversary (& hopefully a nice trip to celebrate)! :)

McKinley:

McKinley turned 9 years old on 9-9 this year! :) She is in Miss Heap's 3rd grade class and Miss Heap has nothing but wonderful things to say about McKinley. She is doing so well academically and is also such a great leader and friend. Her favorite school friends are Lindsey, Jaycee, Kaylin, and T-Nyla. They started a group called the Giggles Club. She sometimes goes to 4H, which is like an afterschool club where they make projects, go on field trips, and play games. She was a finalist in the North Elementary science fair with her static electricity project where they worked on generating enough static electricity to power a tiny lightbulb.  We are sure thankful that McKinley's scare with her appendectomy is over! :( McKinley got a kit from Aunt Tiffany where she got to order some caterpillars. We got to watch them form into chrysalises and eventually into butterflies. It was really neat! McKinley decided she wanted to be in the Suessical Musical this year. She was a quail and she went to lots of rehearsals through the summer and finally performed in August. It was awesome!! The whole play was wonderful and McKinley did a great job and had fun meeting new people and being on stage. She is a great big sister and helps out with her younger sisters even when they don't listen to her ;) Her other good friends are Addison Bealer, Olivia Price, and Emma Beacham. McKinley also loves Activity Days & has made some awesome crafts and even made a quilt with her activity day friends for Noelle! McKinley is good at drawing, writing stories, and since we got a piano, she's learned quite a few songs by heart and can pick out the tune of songs she hears. We hope to get her in lessons soon! McKinley is so thoughtful & is still constantly making gifts, notes, surprises, and service projects for those around her. She is really loving her primary class with Brother & Sister Spencer & is really learning the scripture stories so well! At the end of the year, she got the award of excellence for her Reflections Contest entry - the theme was "The world would be a better place if..." and she took pictures with mom's camera of the beautiful things of this world and a picture of her tablet and placed a "no" symbol over it. McKinley's favorite thing about 2014 was Lagoon and she's most excited about seeing Aunt Tiffany and getting her ears pierced for her 10th birthday next year!

Ireland:

Ireland turned 7 years old this year! She is in Mrs. Willden's 2nd grade class and is doing really well. She is the top reader in her class (at a 4th grade level!) and is improving a lot in math! Unfortunately, her best friend at school (Drew) moved away and so she has been lonely lately at school. We are hoping and praying she will find a new good friend soon. Ireland did gymnastics in the summer and was doing really well! She was so close to getting her kickover and she started doing front flips on the trampoline. Her non-school friends are Shaylee, Emi, and Isabella and she loves to have late-overs with them. Ireland REALLY loved the ocean on our trip to the beach in October. It's possible she could have camped out there forever :) She has loved getting to see her cousins so much this year - especially Joshua. Ireland really LOVES her baby sister Noelle & is still constantly wanting to hold her and kiss her every day. She's still pretty infatuated with shoes :) Mom asked her to pick an outfit that she wanted to wear the first day of school, but she decided to wear her old clothes & just get a new pair of shoes instead! She has fun playing with Kezia - they still like to spend hours playing My Little Pony and Barbies. Ireland says her favorite part of 2014 was going to the ocean and she's most excited about getting baptized next year! 

Kezia:

Kezia is now 5 and had quite the Anna & Elsa birthday - including a Frozen cake, Anna & Elsa dresses, and an Olaf pinata. She sure loves that movie! She also loves playing Barbies and Ponies. Kezia is attending South Elementary Preschool again this year and is now in Mrs. Clara's class. She is having fun and is really an awesome reader - she knows over a hundred sight words! Her preschool friends are Hadley and Emi. Her non-school friends are Adelaide Price and Paige Hillstead. She had her first lessons this year - swim lesssons - she did really well, but had a hard time staying above the water long enough to listen to her teacher. She's quite a little fish. Kezi loves her mommy and Kezi time in the morning before preschool. She loves to paint, color, draw, do puzzles, make crafts, and bake things. She is SUCH a thoughtful daughter. Almost not a day goes by that mom and/or dad doesn't get multiples drawings, colorings, or "tickets" to a "ball" or "show." :-) She also loves making things for her teachers and friends. She loves watching Jake & the Neverland Pirates, My Little Pony, and VeggieTales on Netflix. Kezia says her favorite part of 2014 was her birthday and she's most excited about "learning Kindergarten" next year! 

Link:

Link would have turned 2 this year. For his angelversary (the anniversary of his death - March 26th), we decided to honor him and help fulfill his mission by taking family names to the temple. Family & friends did names, too & we had 24 names in all by his angelversary that we wrote on strips of paper & "linked" around his bench. It was a special experience and we hope to do even more names next year!! We truly feel his joy when we are serving in the temple - especially working to "link" our family together :). There have been many tender mercies throughout this year where we have felt Link sending his love and care for us. One of them was when his sister came into this world. We felt him close - especially during some scary moments of delivery - and especially after she got here safely, we felt that he was bursting with joy. Also - on the very evening of when Noelle was the exact age of Link when he died, we found a beautiful rainbow outside our window. And, amazingly, DURING our family pictures this year, a gorgeous rainbow appeared & we were able to take pictures & forever document his message of love. On his 2nd birthday, we were able to again donate to the Philadelphia and Salt Lake Ronald McDonald Houses and again numerous donations were made in his honor to the Jubilee House in Cedar City. We also had a special surprise when Mike Edwards' Aunt Liz donated money to get a brick for Link at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House. We enjoy visiting Link's bench as a family - we sometimes bring a picnic. We sometimes bring decorations. Sometimes we just sit. In May, many of our family came to wear shirts with Link's picture and go on a Share walk of remembrance. It was really neat. Another neat thing that came about because of Link was that a woman named Susan Curtis found a picture of the forget-me-nots on Link's bench & asked to use it in a book she was making for her grandkids titled "Sunny the Sad Sunflower." She was sweet enough to send us a special copy and it was SUCH a neat story. The other amazing thing was that she had previously come into contact with Grandma Potts & they knew each other! Also - Heidi wrote a blog post about some of the details of Link's death and ways that could possibly help others avoid going through what we have gone through. The post has gotten over 17,000 views and we've had many positive responses about it. 

Noelle:

Noelle came into this world on April 8th. We call her our "sunrise baby" because after a long night of grief, she has come, bringing so much light and joy into our lives. The girls are so infatuated with their baby sister and even after 8 months, she is still fought over and the girls constantly want to hold and kiss her - take baths with her and sit by her in the van. There was a lot of anxiety as she neared Link's age when he died and we had to put our trust in the Lord. Thankfully, she is still with us - continuing to bring light and love. Her laugh and smile just brightens everything. She is sitting up really well, LOVING eating her solid food as well as breastfeeding, shaking her head, laughing, talking (mama, dada, doggie, hi), standing up for long periods of time, trying to get on all fours, clicking her tongue, giving kisses, waving, and clapping hands. She loves watching her sisters. She loves holding her brother's picture. She still is sleeping with the Snuza monitor, the video monitor & she's strapped into her crib with the sleep guardian. Yes, we keep a pretty close eye on our sunrise baby girl, but our anxieties have eased a bit since she's older and we are praying we'll get to keep her. Noelle loves her exersaucer, her jumper, Sydney dog, playing the piano, flapping her arms when she's happy, and grabbing anything and everything within her reach! She can't really tell us, but we are guessing her favorite thing about 2014 was being born :) - and she's most looking forward to walking in 2015!

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