And her name is...

The name procrastinators have finally acted. We have settled on McKinley Louise Simons. McKinley is a family name on the Simons side, and Louise is Mandy's mother's middle name.

The new baby has arrived...

Well Mandy started having labor pains yesterday (2/26) at around 6:00 pm. We went to the hospital just after midnight. Our new baby girl was born today (2/27) at 6:12 am. Our new little girl (as of yet unnamed) weighed in at 6 lbs 7 oz and measured 19 3/4 inches. Both mom and baby are doing fine.

The big 3!

Marley turned 3 this year. She of course wanted a dinosaur party. She is a bit obsessed with all things prehistoric. Mandy made a t-rex cake and we invited friends over for cake and ice cream. It was a lot of fun. She got lots of dinosaur themed presents from her friends. She also got some magformers and her first dinosaur discovery kit. We love this tender/violent little girl!

Mom and Miley helping Marley excavate some dino fossils!

A few weeks later Aunt Monica and Uncle James (both engineers) came to visit. We decided we better have them help but the dinosaur bones together!

A growing triceratops! We left this little blue dino in the water for several days and it grew to be much larger!

A T-Rex costumes she got as a present.

A Big Change in our Lives

Our family will be a little different for the next few years! Last week Mason was extended the call to be the second counselor in our ward's new Bishopric. We know it will bring lots of sacrifices but also lots of blessings. Mason is very level headed and dedicated, so our family is sure he will serve well. We are so proud of him for being faithful in the gospel and dedicated to the Lord. Both Mandy and Mason's parents were able to come to see him set apart. We are excited and grateful (and a little nervous!) for this chapter in our lives. The girls are especially excited that daddy is the "Bishop's helper"!

Giddy Up!

Our town hosts a wonderful cowboy poetry week every year. People come from all over the world. Even if you aren't cowboyish, it is great entertainment and something to look forward to. One of the best parts is that they make it a community event, including taking it to the schools. This year Miley's preschool did two big activities to celebrate our western spirit. Miley got to ride horses and have a Buckaroo Breakfast. I was unable to go with her to ride horses, but she had a wonderful time. She loves horses and was so excited that she got to ride a big black horse. Then her class put on a breakfast for the parents. Miley's job was to cut the cantaloupe for the fruit salad. She also drew of picture of mom on the tablecloth so I would know exactly where to sit! Mom left Marley at a babysitter and her and Miley enjoyed a wonderful breakfast together. Miley's class also made great cowboy bandannas to wear. We are so grateful for a preschool program that gives the kids these awesome experiences and allows families to participate.

Th picture of mom that Miley drew, along with a picture of the yummy pancakes, sausage, and fruit we enjoyed!

You can't really see the white bandanna she is wearing around her neck, but she used stamps and paint to decorate it.

Good News

For those who don't know, Miley was diagnosed with bivesicuritural reflux when she was 1 year old. Every since then we have had to take her to the urologist at least once a year. She has also had to take a low dose of antibiotics every day of her life for the last 4 years. So this weekend we made a quick trip to Utah to go to Primary Children's Hospital. We received wonderful news! It seems she has finally grown out of the problem and they could find no evidence of refluxing into her kidneys. We are so excited to be done with the medicine. It was hard for Miley to understand why she had to take meds every night if she didn't feel sick. The doctor said we need to come back in one year just to be sure, but I think we are finally done with this stage in our lives. We told Miley if she would have these tests done at the hospital (they really are horrible tests for a little girl!), then we would take her wherever she wanted. She chose the Gateway Discovery Center in Salt Lake. The girls have been there before, but they really love it. It was a wonderful trip all around.

The top of the building has a real medflight helicopter.

Miley playing a giant xylophone

Marley at the ball machine

The construction zone

The second floor is all building things (magformers, legos, etc.)

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We were able to spend 5 days in Idaho with Mandy's family, then we went to Boise for 3 days at Mandy's sister's home. The girls were able to play with cousins and got spoiled by Santa. We were so thankful that Mason was able to take time off so we could enjoy being with family. Our trip included Mandy's mom's birthday, a trip to the discovery center in Boise, and of course a browse around Cabella's. It was a wonderful time for everyone.

Just SOME of the presents under the tree. Gifts for 17 people take a lot of room!

This is when we went to visit Great Grandma Snyder at the assisted living center.

The girls in their "Christmas Eve" pajamas, opening some presents. This year Miley got pajamas from the book "Pinkalicious" and Marley's were from the book "How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight".

This is at the Discovery Center in Boise. Miley is hoisting Marley up in a chair made with a bunch of pulleys.

Grandma Hunter's birthday. We had German Chocolate cake and Hot fudge Sundaes.

This was a trip to Cabellas in Boise. The girls loved seeing all the animals.