Happy Birthday, littles!

We celebrated Rosalie and Arielle's birthdays this past weekend with an Under the Sea themed party! We did it in the middle... Ellie is September and Rosie is November, so October is a perfect time for a joint party. Warning... this post is loaded with pictures! I went all Pinterest Mom, complete with costume-y dresses and hats and decorations. A lot of people we invited didn't come... but my older three kids invited half of the neighborhood and at one point we had close to 20 kids here, and everyone was dirty, sticky and happy at the end (well, the kids, anyway!) so I'll call it a success!

Our fabulous missionaries!

Bubbles are the best!

Cousin love :) My sister's three little ones came and that was probably the best part of the party for me (and for Rosalie!)

Thanks to good friends, there was a cotton candy machine on loan! So cool.

There was pin the shell on Ariel...

...a pinata...

One of my favorite little ones had her first Warhead candy and was not a fan...

Cake...

And presents!

Altogether it was exhausting and fun. We only do "big" parties every few years... this was Rosalie's first birthday party with friends invited and decorations and such, so it was pretty special! Good friends and family and good memories made for my little ones.

Next up in birthday season we have Juliet in December and the twins in February... I'm tired just thinking about it!

As always, I have epic failed on blogging

We had a busy spring and summer, and here fall is again!

I'm lazy so here is bullet point list of what's happened since my last post....

• We went on an AMAZING camping trip as a family, to NY to see some of the historical sites of the Church up there. We blew a tire, the kids fought the whole time, it POURED and there was a terrible storm our first night (thankfully the tent held up!) but despite hiccups, it was incredible. We hiked halfway up to the first falls at Watkins Glen State Park in NY and it was... transcendent. No other words to describe the realization that you, someone who could barely walk across a room a year ago, can hike up a slippery, stair-laden path with a toddler on your back. So special. Our current plan is to acquire and fix up a cheap pop up trailer next year to add to our wonderful family camping tradition. I treasure the memories we have made in the past three years! The best part this year was seeing the Hill Cumorah pageant for the first time. Just amazing.

• Juliet was baptized in July! It was incredible, such a special day. She was radiant.

• The day before, we had a big party for family  & some friends to celebrate our home and Juliet's baptism. It was a good time :) The following pictures are ALL my nieces and nephews and my kids! So beyond awesome.

• Jon's weight loss surgery has been a resounding success. He is down 130lb and a size 38 pant from his highest of a size 56 waist! So crazy. 

• I'm down 119lb! My joint pain has gotten a ton better and I feel great. I'm at a weight I haven't been since 10th grade or so. I can walk miles without stopping... I was using a cane a year ago. I hope to lose 40-60 more but even if I don't lose another ounce this has been 1000% worth it.

• I had a thyroidectomy in July to remove a huge mass on the left lobe and a smaller but growing one on the right. It took a while to get the meds straight after surgery but I am finally feeling good. No more hyper OR hypothyroid symptoms is a great thing!
• Jon is receiving the Melchizedek priesthood next weekend. I seriously NEVER could have imagined or pictured our lives being this awesome and centered on Christ a year ago. When Jon was finally told he would NOT be transferring back to NJ last fall, I told him we needed to build our community here for the long haul. I felt lost after losing what was our hope to return to NJ area to be with our families... I needed grounding, spiritually and in a community, so badly! Based on that, I asked him to simply read the Book of Mormon and pray on it... and wow. Here we are, 10 months later! He is a rock star. Counting down until we can be sealed in the spring!
• School is going well for the older 3 kids. Juliet has started playing the clarinet and Juliet and Willow are part of the school track program that runs until November. Adam has Scouts through church.

• I teach Primary now and love it! I'm teaching the 5-6 year olds and oh my goodness, they are so much fun. I seriously love every single one of them like they are my own and my co-teacher is great too!
• Arielle turned 5 last month. She got a kitten and a bike. Snickers is our new cat and she's sweet but a little wild (just like Arielle, lol!) Arielle has joint issues, so stuff like riding a bike isn't easy for her... I worried a LOT getting her the bike that she wouldn't have the strength to do it, but let me tell you something. This child is a warrior. On the first day, she cried in frustration every few minutes because her legs just weren't quite strong enough to push the pedals. She ended the day in significant pain from overworking her knees and ankles. But over time, she's gotten stronger and when she's out riding bikes with the big kids I see her not only keeping up, but FLYING down the street in her little pony helmet with a huge proud grin on her face, and my heart just soars right along with her! She is one tough cookie.

• Today we got our referral to CHOP to try to get Arielle's and my genetic mess figured out. Praying for a diagnosis that gets both of us some answers. Ehlers-Danlos is the #1 suspect and fits in many ways... but who knows. My personal plan is to get into UPenn soon for a rheumy consult as well because with ThyroidGate etc. I haven't had the time or energy to get any of that done.
• We are decked out and ready to go for Halloween! Having the house decorated cheers me up so much. Costumes are almost done... I bought the ones that were available and have made Arielle's and Adam's. Mine needs work and Willow's needs made still.
• Rosalie is in full on threenager mode, a month early. Three is not my favorite age and this child might be my most troublesome yet! She's lucky she's cute.

Is it all good? No... right now I have a kidney infection and shingles. My doctor has also put me on an anti-anxiety medication because my anxiety is through the roof being sick AGAIN. Every time I get better (this time, from the thyroid stuff and an ulcer) and start working out and being more active again... bam, sick! I have had one heck of a year with health issue after health issue. God has a plan, though, and my faith (and my husband's support) are my biggest asset in dealing with this. I know God is using these struggles for good in my life somehow. I might not see the whole plan yet but I will someday. And my husband is my rock... he schedules and keeps track of appointments, advocates for me when I can't speak up and isn't afraid to correct people when he feels they aren't giving me the best care possible. None of this would be possible without him. I'd seriously be a crying mess in a corner somewhere!

Just gonna keep living life, pushing through, working hard, and being weird. Enjoying our favorite time a year as a family with my health MUCH better than last year (even if there still are problems) is such a blessing! Also, pumpkin spice everything.