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Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Summer 2010 Synopsis

In June, the girls and I spent some time in Utah with family. I wanted the girls to see the Timpanogos Temple, where we were married. But because it was such a hot day,

. . . only a few photos turned out like I hoped. Thanks to Phil for taking the pictures.



In July, we celebrated the 4th with Mike, Jenny, Alex, Rachel, and Baby John.

Emma, Rachel,

and Abby anxious for Uncle Mike to light the fireworks!

We then celebrated the 24th in our new home, Arkansas.
Mike drove out with us and provided immense support (and he was a wonderful much-needed extra driver)!
The trip was safe and successful.
This was the only way to tolerate being outside! Thanks to my parents, who came to see us also in July, the girls found respite from the heat with the trampoline, sprinkler, and new slip-n-slide!

Emma loving every minute . . . Abs not so much!

In August, we gave up trying to stay cool outside and invented lots of new games inside. The girls are taking their "friends" on a field trip to the movie theater,

giving Baby Snow White a haircut,

sharing lots of hugs,

and enjoying bedtime snacks!

We also welcomed a new sister into our family. Drea and Ben got married on the 18th.

It was wonderful to be at the temple with my parents and all of my brothers and sisters, (and Baby McKayla, like you could miss her!).

Our biggest event of the month: Sending off our kindergartner!
Emma was way more than ready, and so happy to FINALLY go.

I got a good glimpse into how much she actually loves her kindergarten world when she told me that her first experience eating school lunch was "just amazing, mom!"
I wonder how long that enchantment will last?
Finallly in August, we bought a new van to make room for #4.

Despite having my own siblings laugh at me because I now drive a van :), I am more pleased than I can say with our purchase.

And now I can kick the girls way into the back when they decide to act like turkeys!

Christmas, 2007

Christmas, 2007
So many of our friends and family are doing this blogging thing, and since we don't live near anyone it's probably a good idea that we start one. I'll admit this is the first time I've blogged. Silly me, I thought digital cameras and email and internet phones were enough to stay in touch with those we love!

Although this is the Rodriguez Family blog, I'm sure it will end up as an online shrine to our kids because we love them more than anything and, let's face it, pictures of them are way more fun and interesting!

Adam and I met in 2002 and were married in October of that year. It seems like forever ago now, but I can't really remember life beforehand! Now after six years, nearly three kids (that's right, another coming and it's a girl, again), college and lots of moves later, life rocks more than ever and is totally crazy most of the time. It's a never ending battle with clippies and princess dresses and pink, pink, pink! And, the most dramatic, "GIRL SHOES!" when Emma chucks them all over the house just to get the reaction. Adam is the best, though, even when he has to perform weekly "surgery" on the vacuum to yank all of the long hair out of it. He says being the father of a bunch of girls make him feel "even more manly than I already am."

Adam loves his work at the station, which makes me happy because he is happy! He anchors the weekend shows and reports for the 5:00 and 10:00 news during the week. So he works late, but that means I get more time to myself at night, and who couldn't use that? We're excited to see where his job takes us in the future. It has been a wonderful experience to live out on our own and figure out our own family identity. That's not to say we don't miss our families, especially now that our girls know exactly who the grandparents are and that they get presents from them! But, Utah's news market is huge, and since you have to work up, if we moved back it wouldn't be for a while.

Right now, we're thankful for where we are and for things like a backyard and a pantry and a garage! We were lucky enough to move into our first house for Christmas, and now that the weather is warming up, I can't imagine how I ever did without a yard for two active, crazy kids! And that also means we got a puppy....

PETEY!

PETEY!

Emma, 2007

Emma, 2007
Emma will be 4 in October. It's hard to believe, really. She is so grown up and beautiful. She blows us away with how intelligent she is and how fast she learns. She especially loves to learn new primary songs and bear her testimony. She is very affectionate. I hurt my ankle once, so bad I actually cried, and she gave me a massage and covered my ankle with a blanket, brought me water and a string cheese, stroked by cheek, and gave my ankle a blessing! She's the one who taught Rachel how to give kisses. She loves the computer and could spend hours on the Disney website if we let her. And, like most little kids, everything has to be "all by myself!" She is a complete copy of Adam in both personality and manner. She's so full of enthusiasm and energy ALL THE TIME, I get to the end of the day and wonder how I kept up with her.

Rachel, 2008

Rachel, 2008
I know this is just a crop of one of the pictures above, but Rach's one-year pictures don't look like her at all anymore, and this is beautiful! Rachel is our light-bearer. So happy, so funny, loves to tease Emma by taking her stuff and running for it! She is the one that taught us that our family only gets cooler as it grows! She just learned to count to ten (her best numbers are 2, 3, 8 and 10) and say "Pete, no, no, no!" She is definitely the cuddly one, and I could hold her forever because she says "Ahhh. Mama!" After the kids go to bed, I miss her so much because I love being around her! (Don't get me wrong, I love Emma like mad! It's just more of a relief when her amazingly strong, unrelenting and determined-to-stay-up little personality finally falls to sleep!)

Abigail, 2009

Abigail, 2009
Abby was born July 17, 2008. She was very much our sweet surprise! I never thought we would have three midgets so fast, but Abby is a fabulous addition. Most notable are her blue eyes. Adam, Emma, and Rach have brown and I have green, so Abby's blue are truly striking! I love to look at them. She is so special! I'm excited to see how she grows and comes into her own over the next few months. It is already obvious how much she adores her sisters. I'm so thankful that she has come to our family!