Goodbye Ohio..

  I can't believe our 4 years of Dental school has come and gone.  We really loved living in Ohio and will miss our friends and neighbors greatly.  Bryan got an opportunity to work as a resident doing implants at "White Cap" in Heber City Utah.  We feel so blessed to have been given this amazing opportunity and are excited to be close to family again!

The month of June was probably the most eventful and crazy time of my life.  So much happened that i will have to write 4 different posts just to document it all.  In a nutshell.... Bryan and i planned on moving after graduation on the 5th.  Our plans changed when we got the call that my brother Jason passed away.  We then had 2 choices, We could try to fly to Utah for the funeral then come back and pack up our house, or pack up everything and drive across the country within 4 days.  Well, our attempt to fly to Utah failed.  Flying standby before memorial weekend was almost impossible, so we went with plan B.  Without all of our wonderful friends helping us throw things in boxes and load up our trucks, there is no way we could've done it in that 2 days.  Bryans Dad flew out to Ohio to drive one of the trucks to Utah for us.  We definitely  couldn't have done it without him.  With already 2 days of no sleep we added 2 more to that.  We made the 1700 mile drive in about 40 hours.  Surprisingly, The kids did amazing! Even little Landon!   

 Before we left,  Our neighbors Kiel and Patty threw a BBQ for us and some of our other neighbors.  They have all become like family to us so it was hard to move away from them.

We had the opportunity to see Larry baptized before we moved!
Jeani and Larry have the luckiest dogs on the planet.  They get walked almost every hour rain or shine.

Linda has a personality and smile as bright as her shirt :)  She will always be Grandma Linda to the girls

Our other family away from home is our Dental family.  We have all grown so close and have been through so much together.  I don't know how i could've gotten through these last 4 years without them and now it's sad to think we are all scattered in different states across the country.

Moving Day!

Durring our "unpacking party" Ashley decided to take a little nap....

All about Landon

My Little man is now six months old!  I think about how crazy I was to worry about having a boy. All i knew were girls.  Well this little boy has got me wrapped around his finger.  He is such a sweet little guy and i don't know what i would do without him.

My handsome men! 

Can you say "mini Bryan".

January was a bad month for my little guy :(.  I  laid Landon down on the floor for a minute while i went into the other room to get something.  I had just told the girls not to touch him, like i do 50 times a day.  I left his sight for 10 seconds when i heard him scream and start crying.  Right away i knew exactly what happened.  Ashley just couldn't resist trying to play with him. He had just learned how to roll around and Ashley thought she would help him out. She  didn't realize his arm was pinned back and just kept pushing him until his arm broke.  I think i cried as much as he did that day.  There is nothing worse than seeing your baby in pain. For about a month we had the challenge of trying to immobilize his arm.  At first we tried the ace bandage but then resorted to safety pinning his arm to his chest.  It drove him crazy not being able to move his arm or roll around anymore but at least he never seemed to be in any pain.  We just got another x-ray taken last Friday and it is healing great.  You can still see the break but at least he is able to use his arm now.

We just recently started giving Landon baby food.  He seemed to like it ok at first but now he won't eat any of it.  I think more ends up on his bib and face than in his mouth :) It's a little frustrating but how do you not love this face.

Landons 6 months stats:
 weight  16.8 lbs (48th percentile)
length  27.5 inch (90th percentile)

Trick Or Treat

Happy Halloween!

Not a very happy little monkey

Unfortunately i didn't get any pictures of the girls trick or treating.  Dad took them out this year while Landon and i hung out at home.  They got enough candy to last them all year.....or a couple of weeks if mommy and daddy help them eat it :)

I'm a big girl now!

My little Ashley was finally potty trained right before her 3rd birthday!!! (Oct 12th).  For those people without kids, you are probably saying "big deal, why would you post this"?  But for all of you Moms that have worked so hard to achieve this goal....HALLELUJAH!!!!!!  No more expensive diapers! No more changing poopy bums!

Utah in September

Last month Bryan had a 3 week break from school, so where did we decide to go on vacation...Utah of course.

Flying with 3 kids was a little trickier than with 2 but thank goodness i had Bryan with me this time.  I wondered how my little 5 week old would do but Landon was an angel the whole time.

The girls where little angels when they were sleeping.  :)

We went to the Salt Lake County Fair with Grandma and Grandpa Hendriks.  The girls had a blast! This was the first time they were really big enough to ride the rides.

We went to Bear Lake for a week and stayed in Uncle Johnny's cabin.  We had a full house with Brys family and extended family.  The weather was a little chili at times and i can't imagine how cold the water was, but that didn't stop my girls.  They were like little fish just like there Daddy :)

Kaitlyn got to help Grandpa drive the boat

My little beach bum

Landon and his cousin Jaycee. Just hanging out.

My little fish swimming at the pool.

We celebrated Kaitlin and Ashley's Birthday at Bear Lake.  It was a little early but Grandma and Grampa wanted to take advantage of the chance to spoil there grandkids.

We went on a beautiful hike about an hour away from Bear Lake.

Bryan decided to try out the rope swing and plunge into the icy cold water.  

They did not catch this fish but they sure looked cute holding it.

I would have to say the best part of the whole trip was getting a break from the kids and going to the Rascal Flatts concert with my sisters.  It rained pretty hard on our way to the concert but stopped right when we got there.  We were pretty lucky since it was outside at the USANA Amphitheatre.

We were finally able to get everyone together for family pictures (minus Larissa, she was sick)

Every time i go back to Utah i feel stronger that that's where i want to end up after dental school.  Not that we love Utah so much but we really love being close  to our family.  They are the people that love you know matter what, that you can be completely nerdy around, and that you are stuck with for eternity :)
My brother Jason has battled brain tumors for many years now, and it looks like they are finally getting the best of him.  His left side is now paralyzed and his latest tumor is not responding well to chemo or radiation.  He is such a fighter and has the best attitude.  This experience has brought us all closer to Jason but has also brought us closer as a family.
We love you so much Jason and are so glad we were able to spend some time with you.  You are always in our thoughts and prayers.

Palmyra Trip

After having Landon, I was in much need of a vacation. Since no one in my family had ever been to Palmyra NY, we decided to plan a trip in August to see the church sights. My Mom, Dad, and sisters Rachel and Tara were able to come! We got off to a bad start when my Mom wasn't able to fly out to Columbus with my Dad because of the flue. Luckily it was only a 24 hr. bug and she was able to come out the next day. The next day we planned to leave in the morning and make our 7 hr. drive out to Palmyra, stopping in Kirtland on the way. That didn't quite go as planned either. My Dad started feeling pretty sick that morning but insisted that we still go. We got a late start and had to make several stops for my poor Dad and for Rachel and i to nurse our babies so it ended up being very late when we got there. We were so lucky to be able to stay with Bryans 2nd cousin who lives there in Palmyra. Her home is a mansion that was built in 1824. She had plenty of room for us and was very hospitable.Grandpa and KaitlynOur first stop in Palmyra was The Hill Cumorah.

The Smith Farm and Sacred Grove.Love that face :)

While at the Hill Cumorah, my Dad started feeling so horrible that my Mom had to take him to the hospital. The Drs. found abscess's on his liver and a very bad infection. After 2 weeks of tests and medication they finally decided he was stable enough to go home. We felt so horrible having to leave them in New York. Even worse, he was never even able to see what he came all the way out here to see.

Love you Dad! We hope you continue to get better.