McKinzley's Baptism Day

McKinzley's baptism day couldn't have turned out any better! I am still having a hard time thinking that I have an 8-year old! I didn't think that I would be to the point in my life where I could say "It seems like just yesterday that I was preparing for her arrival" so soon. But, here it is! She has grown into such a beautiful young lady! She is thoughtful, smart, genuine, helpful, a good friend, amazing sister, and one of the best daughters that anyone could ask for!

Her day started out EARLY (5:30am), so that she could drive up to Primary Children's to have her stitches taken out (such a blessing how all of that worked out perfectly!). Then when she got home it was off to our neighbors house to have her hair done up so that after she was baptized it would still look pretty and not require any maintenance. It looked SO pretty! I should have gotten a close up picture of it. But, it worked like a dream! After she was baptized her hair still looked perfect :) Then, after she got her hair done we headed down to the church to get hers and Chad's baptism clothes fitted, and then we took some pictures beforehand. I was super smart (insert sarcasm) and forgot to take ANY pictures of her in her baptism dress!! I was going to have some taken a little while after her baptism so that she didn't have her cut on her face, so I guess I just spaced it......oh well. After pictures we headed in to the chapel to wait for the baptism program to start. It was short and sweet! My girls sang the baptism song, and it was SO cute!! Taylin lifted Pemberlynn up to the microphone so that you could hear her singing, and she sang every word perfectly, even the word immersion :) After that we headed in to the R.S. room for the actual baptism, and I will have to admit that I got a little teary-eyed watching Chad baptize McKinzley. The Spirit was so strong, and it was just such an amazing experience! The Gospel has blessed our lives so much, and I am so proud that 1) my husband holds the priesthood, 2) he is able to baptize our children, and 3) that McKinzley chose to be baptized. After she came out of the water and I went in to help her change I asked her how she felt, and she said "I feel SO clean mom, but I am FREEZING!!!" :) After she got dressed we went to the priesthood room so that she could be confirmed. Again, the Spirit was so strong! So many of our family and friends came to support McKinzley, and it mean't so much to her and Chad and I.

We had a lunch at my parents house after the baptism was over. I had so much help with the food! Between my mom, Paige, my sister Maria, and my sis-in-law Kirstin, all I had to do was buy the rolls :) And, afterwards David and Paige took the three younger girls to their house so that we could have a little bit of a break after the baptism. It was SO nice!! The older two girls were playing with some friends, so Chad and I were able to sit and just talk and catch up on our crazy life :) And, boy did those little ones have a great time! All three of them were sacked out by the time they came back home :) Thank you SO much to everyone that helped! Here are a bunch of the pictures that we took. I will put the ones of McKinzley in her dress on here when I get them done :) Enjoy!

OUCH!!!

I had a clinical in Orem on Monday and when I had a break I checked my phone and saw that I had some voicemails from Chad. Odd. The first voicemail: "Um, Nicole.....The school called and said that McKinzley split her lip and that I need to go get her....Call me when you have a minute." The next voicemail: "NICOLE! Call me AS SOON AS YOU GET THIS! I am taking McKinzley up to Primary Children's Hospital." So, after hearing these messages, I am starting to freak out...ALOT! I called Chad and he said that the school had called him and told him that McKinzley had fallen and split (not really the word I would have used) her lip open and that he "just needed to come up there right-away". He went up to get her and took her to the insta-care. They told him that he needed to take her up to Primary Children's to see a plastic surgeon because of where she had lacerated her face.

I left my clinical and went to pick up our other girls from our good friend Cami who so graciously took the other girls while Chad took McKinzley to the doctor. Thank you Cami!! I got home to the microwave beeping at me and all the fixings for lunch out on the counter. I checked the beeping microwave and there were chicken nuggets still in there, and in the oven there were some corn dogs. He really did drop everything and leave :) I am just glad that he turned off the oven before he bolted out the door :) Anyways, long story short, she had the plastic surgeon sew her back up so that they could make sure that they lined her lip back up so that it wouldn't look funny as she grows. They also noticed that one of her teeth had been smashed back up into her gums. They didn't do anything for it there. They just told us to wait about 2-3 weeks to see if it will come back down on its own. If it doesn't, then they will have to do surgery to pull it back down. Both of her front teeth are permanent teeth, so they said that she will probably have to have a root canal done on the one that was smashed, and maybe on the other front tooth that was knocked loose. I am debating whether to wait that long before I call the dentist?????

When she got home she was still a little loopy, but she said that she felt perfectly good except that her lip felt fat :) Chad told me that they gave her something to snuff up her nose so that she wouldn't really be with it when they gave her a shot in her lip to numb it. So, she was really out of it, but I guess however the doctor was holding her face when he was sewing it up was pushing against her teeth, so she kept saying "ouch". So the doctor kept giving her more shots. Chad said that it was after about the fourth shot the doctor finally noticed that it was because he was pushing on teeth that she was saying ouch. But, McKinzley was too loopy to say where it hurt. So, needless to say, she was REALLY numb! It was sad because that whole half of her face was droopy. She actually slept really well and wanted to go to school this morning. And, the best news of all.....she doesn't have to postpone her baptism!! They are taking the stitches out early in the morning (like 6:00am) on Saturday, so we are cleared for the baptism. She will have a bruise, and maybe still be swollen, but she was NOT going to wait on her baptism :)

Sorry, long story! Here are some pictures....

This picture really doesn't do it justice. It was cut all along the inside of her mouth up higher than on the outside...

After it was sewn up....Looks a lot better!
See that tooth that looks like it is just coming in? Ya, that used to be a normal tooth before it got shoved back up in her gums. And her lips are stained from all of the blood :(
This is her cute little "boyfriend" Rigdon that came over to give her a hug and tell her that he hoped she got better soon. (They are planning to marry each other....just ask them :) )
We also had a visit from the girls cousins who wanted to make sure that McKinzley was doing okay. These are her cousins Allyson and Brooke.
She also got a call from Nana Paige to see how she was doing, but all she told her about was how the nurse's sister works at Sea World with the buluga whales :) It made her feel so special to have so many people concerned for her. Thank you all for your concern and prayers! We love you all!

Mommy-Daughter Shopping Day

McKinzley's baptism day is sneaking up on us pretty fast! On Friday McKinzley and I headed out on a mommy-daughter shopping date to find her a dress to wear on her baptism day. But, what would a shopping day be without going out to lunch first?? So, I checked McKinzley out of school and we headed to Chili's (Yum) for a delicious lunch and a brownie sundae. McKinzley absolutely loved her mac-and-cheese and side of pineapple. She told me that she wanted to be healthy and that is why she got the pineapple :) Funny girl. This is her enjoying her "awesome" lunch. Who knew mac-and-cheese could be so cool?

After we stuffed ourselves full of deliciousness we headed out to shop. I took her to the store White Elegance, and as soon as we walked in she was BEAMING. The sales clerk was so cute and took McKinzley by the hand and told her that she was going to walk her around the store and pull down any dress that McKinzley liked and wanted to try on. Needless to say, this is what we ended up with...(most of the dresses have one or two dresses hanging up behind them...I think we ended up with about 12 dresses that she wanted to try on)

SHE WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!!

I think that standing in front of this mirror was one of her favorite parts :)

We ended up getting a GORGEOUS dress that she looks SO beautiful in! We did end up trying on EVERY single dress (she has turned out to be quite picky), and she narrowed it down to two. I think it took her about 20 minutes of trying one on and then the other over and over again before she made the decision of the one that she wanted :) I am so excited for her! She is so excited to be baptized! I can't believe that she is so grown up. It was so much fun to spend the day with her and listen to her chat about all of the things that are important to her. She cracks me up! I am so proud of her! I will post pictures of the dress she chose with her baptism pictures........

THEY'RE OFFICIAL!!!

I had this really great idea of putting Chad and Drew's fancy logo on here, but I have learned that I am EXTREMELY technologically challenged. So, just imagine the following words as an AMAZING looking logo......

HOYT CONSTRUCTION, LLC

GENERAL CONTRACTING AND FRAMING

But, there you have it! They are now officially in business!!! WAHOO!!!

I HAVE AN 8-YEAR OLD!!!!

They say it, and it is really true...TIME FLIES!!! I can't believe that McKinzley is already 8 years old! This year for her birthday she wanted to just take her 2 best friends out for a "Princess Day Out". On her actual birthday she opened her presents and then had cake and her favorite dinner (breakfast for dinner) that night. I had a clinical so I wasn't able to be there for her blowing out her candles :( But, I was able to take her and her friends on their girls day. It was SO much fun!

It ended up being about 2 weeks after her birthday that we went on the "Princess's Day Out". We had it planned for the first Saturday after her birthday but her little friend was sick, so she decided that she wanted to wait until she could come.

We started out by going and buying them each a pair of flip-flops that they could wear after they got their mani/pedi, and a crown for each of them to wear. After we had those in tow we headed over to the salon to be pampered and boy did they love it!! (I'm getting them hooked early in life!)

So grown up!!

Gotta let them dry..

Finished product

Aren't they cute???!!!!
After they were pampered I took them for dinner and icecream. They were SURE that they needed the "regular" size icecreams from Leatherby's, and since it was for her birthday I let it slide. They each ended up only eating down the the top of the glass and they were full :)
I had just as much fun as these cute girls did! I can't believe that McKinzley is growing up so fast! She is such a sweet, kind, genuine, beautiful young lady. I am so proud of who she has become in these short 8 years. And, I am so excited that she has chosen to be baptized in April!

I love you McKinzley!!

Oaklee's 5th Birthday

I was really bummed this year because I had clinicals on both Oaklee's and McKinzleys birthdays. So, we decided to celebrate Oaklee's a couple of days early. She decided that she wanted to go to Incredible Pizza (by the way, way too expensive for what you get), with that being said, we had a BLAST! My pictures are a little out of order, but oh well, on of these days I will figure out blogger :)

Oaklee, the morning of her birthday opening presents.

Incredible Pizza Place
This one just makes me laugh! I think Oaklee just scored on McKinzley

Lunch at Incredible Pizza

I absolutely LOVE Oaklee's expressions and enthusiasm!
This was her spotlight at Pre-school
This is the part I missed :( Getting ready to blow out her candles!
The Cake!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OAKLEE!! I LOVE YOU!!

What we've been up to....

It has been awhile since I have posted anything on my blog, but to put it mildly, I am BUSY!! I started the nursing program towards the end of January and it is extremely time consuming, but I am loving every minute of it! Ok, well, not every minute. I really hate carrying this load of books around every day...

And, when I get home, this is what my bed looks like while I am trying to do my homework and study...
But besides feeling like I have a broken back all of the time, I am enjoying school so much! I am finally taking classes that I am interested in. None of those silly prerequisites :) Our cohort is so much fun, and I have made so many fun, new friends.

I was worried that when I went back to school that I would be stressed over the daily things that I used to do at home. Like, thinking "Oh, I have so much laundry to do when I get home", or "I've got to get the rooms cleaned and the bathroom clean". But, I was worrying for NO reason. Can I tell you how wonderful Chad is?? Every day that I get home the laundry has not only been washed and dried, but folded and put nicely away!! The dishes are always done, floors are vacuumed, toys are picked up.....I could go on and on. He has been so WONDERFUL!! The girls have LOVED having their dad home. He has taken them to Cabela's to look at the animals (yes, I know they are dead, but they still love it), to the park, and the zoo a couple of times...

and he lets them wear whatever they want.... Could life be any better??
Things couldn't be working out more perfectly :) Yes, it is stressful with the amount of time that school requires, but I have loved the times that Chad and I have set aside to spend time with each other. One of my favorites, is just sitting down together after we have put the girls to bed and chatting about our days, maybe watching one of our favorite shows and sometimes gorging ourselves on Hostess cupcakes :) (Have you tried the new strawberry ones??? They are to die for!) I love that man!

I start my clinicals in the hospitals this next week, and I am really going to miss our time in the lab. We always had a blast! Here are a couple of pictures from lab...

"Wound Day"

NG Tubes
LOVE my lab group!!!!
Hopefully I will be able to keep my blog updated a little more often :) But, the Hoyt's are doing great!!

Feeling Pretty Special

Over the past year Chad and I have had to decide on some big decisions that would be affecting our little family. One of these decisions was for me to go back to school to work on getting my RN degree. Up until now it has just been one class after the other to get to the point that I am at today....starting the nursing program! It is hard to believe that the day is finally here, and that there is the tiniest of lights at the end of my tunnel. :)

When we made the choice that I would go back to school we both felt like it was the right thing to do, and that it would be the best move for our family. As I said in an earlier post, I have been SO blessed during my schooling. Not only have I been able to get "A's" in all of my classes, but my family has been well taken care of while I have been in school. Then, I applied for the nursing program, and I was accepted!!! I was EXTREMELY excited! Everything was going just how I had planned...........until now. Some things you can't foresee happening. And some of those things happened to us. I would rather not go into specifics, since this is a public blog, but our situation made me really start to second guess the decision to start the program. I couldn't see how I could still go to school and all of the pieces of our life would be able to fit back together. After more prayer, and fasting, and a GREAT temple experience, we still felt like me going to school is what we are supposed to be doing right now. I decided that I would just have to take that leap of faith, and know that everything is going to work out (this is a REALLY hard thing for me to do! I like to have control :) ). Aside from my own personal experience, I have had an outpouring of love and support from people in my family. I can't tell you how much it mean't to me to have the encouraging texts, emails, conversations on the phone, etc. And my parents, WOW, how much help they have been to us! I know that having us live with them can probably be hard, but they have always been loving and supportive. I don't know what our kids will do when we move out :) Thank you, Mom and Dad!! It is so much easier to get through a trial in your life when you have a support system! With that being said, on Friday I had my orientation for the nursing program, and to say that I was overwhelmed is an understatement. Driving away I was thinking, "How on Earth am I going to be able to go to school Monday-Thursday 8:00am-2:30pm, complete 12 hour clinicals, study, and STILL have time to be with my family and not go insane??" And then I saw a little note in my cup holder that was from Chad, telling me how proud he was of me, and how he loved me, and KNEW that I could do it! I felt so special! (Can I tell you how much I love that guy!!!). And then I came home to this........

A beautiful bouquet of balloons from David and Paige with an amazing letter of encouragement, love and support attached to it. Their support through this last year has been phenomenal! Thank you guys so much!! And, thank you again for the balloons! They made me feel SO special!

So, here we go on our next journey, and I know it isn't going to be an easy one, but I have NO doubt that it is going to be a good one!!!

Just for fun: McKinzley consistently wakes up between 4:30-5:00am. So, since she has a lot of time before she has to get ready for school, she spends her time making cute little signs that she hangs up around the house. I love getting little notes from her! Here are a couple of her recent signs that made me smile....

These signs are on the girl's bedroom door.....

(No boys alawd (allowed) p.s. Just Dad and Grandpa)

Love it!!!

Dear Tooth Fairy.....

McKinzley lost a tooth the other day and left this note for the ToothFairy. It says:

Dear Toothfary,

What do you do with my teeth.

Please write back under the line.

Merry Chritmas.

______________________

The ToothFairy left her with some money, took the note, but hasn't written back to her yet (She is starting to get impatient :) ). So, my question for you is, What DOES the ToothFairy do with our teeth? Any ideas?

Happy New Year!!!!

"For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." ~T.S. Eliot

Wishing you all a safe New Years Eve, and a New Year filled with adventure!