2013 In Review

Here's a little recap of 2013 and how it all went down:

 

January: Mardee is sick and pregnant, showers twice/week, rarely accomplishing anything. Spencer makes up for Mardee's slack and works hard at Walmart HQ.  He holds it all together with a smile.  The kids are excited for a new baby and do their best to take care of mommy.  Spend New Years with Caitlin, Jordan, and Fan--go on a cave adventure and ice skating! Campbell gets her first pair of glasses and a sonic boom is heard all over as she exceeds the Adorableness Barrier.

Daddy-Daughter date to the animal shelter to play with the dogs.



About to embark on a cave exploration adventure with Uncle Jordan and Aunt Caitlin!

A couple of natural beauties prove that more is... more.  They may have been getting into mischief but, my, it was a nice quiet rest for mom!

The girls made many efforts to boost morale and help me feel better.  A little tea party was a good way to spend some mommy/daughter time.

February:   Mardee starts to have some "good" days, Cadence loses her first tooth! Valentine's probably happened, I don't really remember :).  After a visit to an ultrasound tech, Spencer walks around the office high-fiving everyone in sight.   Girls gear up for a week with Gramps as Mom and Dad go away on a cruise from New Orleans to Cozumel, and spend the time sleeping and eating (every pregnant woman's dream)!  Girls have a GREAT time with Gramps, who buys them a (bb) gun.

The cake that revealed the baby surprise--IT'S A BOY!

March: Mardee increases her showers to 3x/wk.  Spencer still covering for her on most fronts.  A last minute visit from McKay and Karalyn brings sunshine and excitement, although the weather doesn't take notice.  Visits to museums, zoos, and pools, and crafts and Easter Celebrations as well as General Conference are shared with our guests and the kids and adults alike have enough fun to last all year!  Kids don't stop asking for a playdate with Zavian for the rest of the year.

 

April: This is actually when General Conference takes place. Our guests are still in town for a small part of the month and so we play all day!  We have a family baby shower party with Spencer's team at work for the 6 (!) babies on their way in the coming months.

Movie night! Paul Hatch and ALL the kids.  The couch to be on, I guess.

 

Making "Earth Day" craft for Cadence's FHE

May: Spencer has the great opportunity to cruise the Mediterranean with his great big Clive family, courtesy of his fantastic Grandparents.  Mardee has to sit it out because she is too pregnant to be allowed on a cruise ship (29 wks).  Fantastic Grandparents pay for Mardee's sister to fly out and spend the week with her and the kids, and Mardee and the kids get to spend a great week with Melanie and Maeva.  Incidentally, Melanie recently finds herself to be expecting little Brandtson, and so the two pregnant women do their best to keep eachother and the kids afloat.  Mardee uses the "remember when you went on my dream cruise without me and left me home in a vulnerable state with all your children" card often and unabashedly for the foreseeable future.  Tornado season makes its debut and makes a stump of our little tree in the front yard. School's out! Then an epic Memorial Day Campout where a fun hike turns long and treacherous and provides enough ticks to make a pie

Some of the happy campers

Mr. Manly Manlyson here, clearing the tree the tornado snapped.

at our Beaver Lake Campout

Beaver Lake Buddies

These girls spent May and June playing "Towmado!"  And are pictured here using a box as a "safe room".

with. 

June:  Dance lessons, gymnastics lessons, swim lessons, piano lessons, tennis lessons, and fitkidz lessons, the girls stay busy busy busy.  Daddy takes us fishing and swimming and biking often.  The kids do a lot of chores to help their mommy who is getting huge.


Showered with Fathers' Day affection

July:  Spend a lovely fourth of July with the Flemings at the creek in Bella Vista, then go home for some recovery from our sun exhaustion before watching the fireworks with all our friends at the Erickson's.  Expect that each huge boom from the fireworks will put me into labor.  Go home disappointed that nothing happened, but grateful no kids got lost.  A week later, the baby is born--happy and healthy!-- in our bedroom.  The kids wake up to new brother! July is the month of birthdays and we celebrate Cadence and Campbell's birthdays in numerous ways.  Enjoy having both grandmas in town and try to adjust to a family of six.

Seven Years Old!

Five Years Old!

combined birthday party at Jump Zone

August:  Spencer and I decide we can't spend a whole summer at home so we take the kids to Branson, MO.  Have the good fortune of being invited to stay at the lake house of the wonderful Williams family while they are in town and the kids throw a fit when we leave the good company of the Williams' to go to Silver Dollar City (amusement park).  Learn a lesson about gratitude and turn themselves around, and a magical day ensued.  School begins and the kids are off to a great start! Cadence starts second grade, with the same teacher she had in kindergarten-yay!, and Campbell starts kindergarten with Mrs. Meyers, who is both experienced and adorable.  Campbell learns to read almost immediately.  The kids spend every waking hour fighting over whose turn it is to hold the baby.  Who is r

first day of school

Ezra meets his best buddy Mason

Miss Jane (Williams) and Layla are a couple of crazy drivers!

eally, really, cute, by the way.

September: Spencer and Mardee celebrate 10 years since their first date and love at first sight! (or at least serious chemistry :)  ).  Layla starts "Bee School" (mother's coop preschool) and loves it.  We settle into a routine and the weather starts to mellow out.

Layla's first day of "Bee school"

Karyn Bennett takes Clara, Eden, Henry (he's behind Eden) and Layla on a Bear Hunt, first day of "Bee School"

 

October: The plagues of Pharoah hit us.  Pantry moths, fleas, and lice simultaneously try to uproot our home and send us to the madhouse.  We finally fight back and hire somebody to come spray for the fleas.  Mardee has to pull all the bedding out and wash it to treat for lice, then get EVERYTHING off the floor to prepare for the flea treatment, and tries not to hyperventilate thinking about all those pesticides on her little babies.  Also has to throw out all the dry goods to try to wipe out moth populations.  Coincidentally we find a new home for our sweet Abby (the dog) the same week.  Happy she went to our good friends, the Kosters.  Then a quick visit from Grandma and Grandpa Orton, stopping by on their grand American Adventure!  Uncle Tyler flies into town on Halloween and is a smash hit dressed as The Hulk at the kids school parties, trick or treating at Wlmrt Home Office, and taking our little monster (cadence), Pillow Featherbottom--the Lalaloopsy girl (Campbell), and a saucy little pirate wench (Layla) trick or treating around the neighborhood.  The hotdog (Ezra) stayed home with mom to hand out the goods.

November:  Uncle Tyler's visit continues but is over too soon.  Then the preparation for our trip to Utah begins.  We make the great big drive to Utah (21 hours driving), it goes considerably well.  We get there with strep throat (Cam and Cadence).  Meet cousins Cameron (Mignon) and Lincoln (Jordan) for the first time.  Ezra gets blessed in Grandma and Grandpa Orton's home, surrounded by both families, and the week is filled with baby showers, birthday parties, cousin outings, and thanksgiving prep.  It all goes too fast.  Thanksgiving becomes a combined Orton/Clive celebration last minute and S and M don't have to figure out how to split the holiday (yay!).  Thanksgiving is also Layla's 4th birthday, and she gets celebrated the day before with the Ortons and the day after with the Clives/Clarks.  The night of her birthday she gets croup--bad.  We drive down to St George to be with Clive/Clark family and try to keep her healthy.  The weekend is sweet and filled with family fun but we spend our last night in the ER with Layla who's croup was out of control.  Drive home through NM and spend a quick night at Gramps' place in Albuquerque on our way.  Girls now compare all tvs to his mammoth one, nothing has quite been the same since.  Layla's voice gains a new depth and resin to it from the croup which has become somewhat permanent, and is totally adorable.

Grandma and Grandpa make sure they have a kitten around when grandkids come to town!

Grandma O and her collection of lovely, feisty, sweet and silly granddaughters. (Missing sweet Maeva and Jensie!)

Daddy went to great lengths to make a special birthday cake for his Little Miss!

Cousin buddies!  All the boy cousins on the Orton side--Cameron and Ezra and Zavian.

At Grandma Clark's the girls put on a talent show for the Grandmas, here is Layla showing off her back bend!



 

December: The whole month is filled with Holiday preparations and Christmas Joy.  The kids and adults alike make valiant efforts to maintain the spirit of the season and we all have a truly wonderful month!  The winter weather is unusually icy and snowy and the kids have about 5 days of school that aren't cancelled.  This slows Mardee's Christmas prep but is great fun!  Ezra is still waking every two hours to eat, which is wearing Mardee down, but everybody does their part to try to let her sleep in when she can.  Christmas is filled with traditions of watching "Scrooge", the shepherds' dinner with nativity reenactment, Christmas caroling and baking cookies for friends and neighbors, and being together around the fireplace.  Christmas day is exciting, with a wii, a new tv for dad, a kitchenaid for mom, and a new dollhouse, plus a lot more! We have Christmas dinner with the Flemings and Christensens and sleep soundly that night (except for mom and Ezra :) ).  During the break dad takes girls ice skating and Campbell gains a new passion.  A few days later Aunt Gina sends Mardee and txt inviting them to spend some of the rest of the holiday in Chicago.  Spencer and Mardee throw caution to the wind and within 3 hours are on the road.  Have a fantastic and memorable time with Clivinos, which gets extended beyond the 5 days planned because of more of that crazy winter weather.  Send 2013 into the history books by playing with cousins, and then begin the new year the same way-- yay! 



Chick Magnet



Ezra got a little chummy with the new dolls his sisters got this year.



showing the girls how their ribbon twirlers work...and having a little too much fun...



What a fantastic year of family, friends, and fun.  We are so grateful for all that the Lord has blessed us with and we can't wait to see what the coming year has in store!