I've created a new blog for our family at  http://stohls.blogspot.com/

Please check in there for our family pictures and updates.

Sean ran in the Top of Utah, Logan Marathon today.  He has been training for this for the last 6 months or so and the big day finally came.  He did great!  I can't believe how good he looked each time I saw him; he never looked like he was soar or hurting or even tired...  He is amazing and I'm so proud of him.  I'll write more details tomorrow.  After 4 hours of sleep, I think I'm going to pull Sean away from the post game BYU depression show and go to sleep. 

This year’s family reunion was in Minnesota.  Sean and I decided to fly out early so the girls could have some extra time with their cousins, and I could have some extra sister time.  We flew out on Saturday, August 18.  Our flight was delayed leaving Salt Lake City, and we ended up sitting on the runway for an extra hour.  The girls were fabulous though and survived the long flight.  Once in Minneapolis we had to circle the airport for an extra 40 minutes before we could land.  Ella was so excited thinking we were there and couldn’t wait to get off the plane.  After about 15 minutes of circling she shouts out, “Why is this landing taking so long?!”  We finally landed and found our rental van and made our way to Plymouth.  Cousins were waiting on the driveway in the rain for us to get there.  They were all so excited to see each other.  Lucy loved the attention and all the Minnesota cousins took a turn to hold her and give her special hugs.  That night the adults (Shannon, Dave, Erin, Sean and I) went out for pizza to celebrate Shannon and Dave’s 18 year anniversary.  We offered to baby-sit, but it was fun to all go out together.

On Monday we loaded up the kids into two mini-vans and made our way downtown to go to a cool museum at the University of Minnesota.  Due to bridges being closed because of the bridge collapse, it took a few dead-ends and u-turns to finally find the right place.  We actually had quite a sobering moment when we looked up while stopped at a red light and had a clear close-up view of the collapsed bridge.  What a sight to see and what an amazing blessing that many more lives weren’t lost that day.

We found the University, parked, unloaded all 6 kids and 3 adults and walked to the museum only to find a sign stating that the museum is closed on Mondays.  The kids didn’t care, the had a great time looking for the animal statues and chasing the squirrels all through the campus.  Shannon took us to a great collage hang out for yummy French fries and huge milk shakes.  It turned out to be a great day.

On Tuesday afternoon we went to the Arboretum and the kids loved running along the trails to find the mazes.  Once to the maze they had so much fun racing through it.  Shannon and I kept partnering them up and having them do an “Amazing Race” to the end.  We were laughing so hard listening and watching from above as they made their way through the hedges, doors and tunnels.  It was another great day.

On Wednesday, we again loaded up the two vans and headed to the airport to pick up Marmie and Poppy.  Then we went to the Science Museum and went through an amazing exhibit about Pompeii.  Ella was disappointed to realize there was not in fact a real live volcano inside the museum.   Her disappointment soon turned to joy once Benjamin introduced her to the sneezing girl who sneezed on you when you walked by.

Seven weeks ago, we decided as part of our reunion we would have a challenge to encourage the family to better themselves and loose a few pounds for those of us who have a few extra to loose.  We all set different goals, some weight loss related, others just personal things we wanted to accomplish. I was 2 pounds away from my weight goal, but am proud to have lost 12 lobs.  We had a combined family weight-loss of 96.6 lbs.  I was so proud of each one of us.   One of Sean’s goals was to complete a 20 mile run without stopping.  Thursday morning he got up bright and early and set out to accomplish his goal (The challenge ended the next morning, it was now or never).  I am proud to say he completed it, and he completed it well, but not without blood, sweat and maybe even a few tears.  About mile 16 he looked down to get a drink of water and noticed his shirt was covered in blood.  He was so focused on his run he didn’t even notice that he had rubbed his chest raw and was bleeding everywhere!  I am so excited for him and his upcoming marathon; I think I’m more excited for him to do this than he is.  I am so proud of all his hard work and his dedication to running.  He is going to do great on September 15.

Later that day we headed to the Mall of America.  The kids were so excited to get “all day ride bracelets” Shannon bribed her kids to read this summer by promising ride passes to those who read a certain amount of books.  The cousins had so much fun riding on the rides together.  Highlights were; riding with Shannon and Bryan on the Timberland Twister.  Listening to Shannon scream while Bryan laughed so hard he couldn’t breath was the high-light.  Kathryn had called Kristen, Maureen, Sean and I in advanced and made us promise to go on something called “The Mighty Axe”.  If she had given a better description of the ride I don’t think any of us would have made such a promise (maybe Sean would), but since we did we all climbed aboard and spent the next few minutes hanging on for dear life and screaming while Poppy  laughed  and took pictures from below.

On Friday they girls had a lunch shower for Kristen at an antique tea-house.  It was fun to have all the girls together and hear more about her and Eric and a little of their history and plans for the future.  I am so excited for them and am looking forward to getting to know Eric better and having him officially be apart of our family.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent on Lake Minnetonka.  We had a huge pontoon boat with a BBQ and rented a couple of sea-doos.  It was so fun to all be together on the beautiful lake and spending time in the water together.  Libby loved the sea-doos and wants to get some of our own.  Ella hated all of it, and didn’t even like it one time, except for digging in the sand on the shore and eating a hotdog. 

On Saturday we had our annual Amazing Race Scavenger hunt throughout down-town Minneapolis.  We started at the Farmer’s Market by the Guthrie Theater and had to make our way to famous spots around town.  Libby and Ella both thought it was great taking the taxi’s (they didn’t even have car seats mom!) and loved racing around the city.  It was a great way to see some of the sights and having a little friendly competition.

On Sunday, we had a great meeting in the Plymouth 1^st ward and then had a yummy Sunday dinner, family meeting and talent show.  We were supposed to fly home that night, but after waiting at the airport for 3 hours and finding out we would probably have to wait 3 more we decided to stay one more day and fly home on Monday night.

It was a fantastic trip and a wonderful reunion.  I am so grateful for my heritage and my family, and for the love that we all share and the support that we all give to each other.  I’m so grateful to Sean for not only putting up with this crazy lot, but also at least pretending he likes it.

 

  

 

 

 

 Before we moved to Utah, Kristen, GJ, and Amelia and sometimes Scott and Maureen, went on an after church hike.  We decided it was time to reinstate the tradition.  Libby and Ella were so excited!   WE had signed them up for REI's Outdoor adventure program, where they are supposed to go on 3 hikes by Labor Day and write about them in a hiking passport.  Their passports had a list of "safe hiking rules" and then lists of things to look for on the hike.  Of course LIbby was worried about making sure we followed all the rules and made sure everyone followed them.  When we got to the lake she was so mad because there was a group of people out wading in it.  There was a posted no swimming sign since the lake is part of Utah's drinking water supply.  She couldn't believe people would just break the rules like that.As we kept driving higher and higher up the mountain Ella started crying that she was going to fall off the mountain and didn't want to get out.  Once of the car, and after she saw there was a creak that we could walk through she got over her fear of falling off the mountin.

The air was clear and cool, no smokey fire smell!  We hiked one mile up to Cecret Lake.  Towards the end it got a little steep and rocky, but the girls trooped on.  This was really their first hiking experience.  Ella rode in the back pack on the way down but Libby did the whole thing.  Lucy loved being outside and was really content the whole time.  Libby is already talking about what we might see on the next hike.

 

Tonight we had our annual neighborhood pioneer/patriotic parade.  THis is one of Libby and Ella's favorite events.  All day long they were pestering me about decorating bikes and wagons.  We finally got it done, got everyone dressed and outfitted in bonnets and we were off.  We started off at the front of the parade line-up but quickly fell behind.  Ella was determined to pull her covered wagon by herself!  She loaded it with a poodle, elephant, monkey and a cheatah.  Libby rode her bike along with us, carefull not to get too far ahead of us.  They had a blast in the parade and especially enjoying the icecream afterward.

We have had a fun past few weeks.  The last week of June, my mom and I and LIbby, Ella and Lucy flew down to California.  All three girls did great on the plane, Ella thought it was better than Disneyland.  Lucy and I flew home 2 days later.  Sean picked us up from the airport and we drove to Idaho Falls.  We spent the night at Robert and Leslie's and then went to Tanner's baptism the next day.  Saturday was a special day, so neat to be their for Tanner's day.  We spent a nice day at Nathan and Krista's house and then Sean, Lucy and I headed to the Ranch.  We drove home to Utah on Sunday night.

Monday, I didn't know what to do with myself with only Lucy around.  She ended up being fussy all day, so we stayed in bed in our pj's all day long.  It was actually kind of nice.  THe next day Mom and Dad drove back to Utah with Libby, Ella and Erin in tow.  We had a fun week with everyone (except Shannon and crew :( .  On the 4th we went to the Murray parade and cheered Amelia's brother and the Bingham High marching band on.  We had a yummy dinner and then headed to the park for fireworks.  It was so fun to all be together and celebrate the day with each other.

On Sunday, July 8, we had Lucy's blessing.  What a special day it was.  All the family (Both Sean's and Mine) were able to be there (minus Shannon and crew:(.  Sean gave a beautiful blessing and Lucy was an absolute angel.  Libby gave a great talk in Primary about her ancester, Benjamin F. Johnson and an experience she had when she prayed for help and Heavenly Father answered her prayer.  She had all her cousins and Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents there to hear her talk.  After church everyone headed back to the house for lunch and visiting.  It was a perfect day.

On Monday the family all left, and they left me alone with 3 little girls!  It's pretty much the first time I haven't add any extra helping hands around since Lucy's birth.  I miss the help!  We are slowing adjusting to life and hopefully getting Lucy's schedule turned around.

We only have about 3 more weeks before Libby starts Kindergarten, so we are going to try to cram the rest of our summer adventures into the next few weeks.  We are looking ahead to a weekend in West Yellowstone with Sean's family and a week in Minnesota with Shannon and crew. 

Libby can't wait for school to start and then she has soccer starting soon after that.  Ella will also be starting a ballet class in a few weeks, she's more excited for that than she is for preschool.  I feel like summer has just begun, but it will be gone before we know it.

 

 

 

 

First off I apologize to the avid readers of the Stohl blog as this will be a futile attempt by Sean to try to fill in for Megan's supreme blog writing.  Today was an AWESOME day and we feel very blessed and so grateful for everyone's prayers and best wishes for a safe delivery and healthy baby girl which all happened today! 

 

At around 2:45 AM, I was woken up by Meg and she told me either her water had broken or she just couldn't control her bladder.  And if it was the latter incident, she made me swear that I would keep my mouth shut about that incident until the next life.   Unlike when Megan's water broke with both Libby and Ella, there wasn't a big gush so we thought the water had broken but didn't know for sure.  We got to the hospital around 5 am, and the nurses informed us that her water had indeed broken.

 

Megan was dialated at a 2 and wasn't having really many contractions when we first got there at the hospital.  So they started some pitocin and gaver her an epidural around 7 and it was pretty slow going for the first bit.  A little bit before noon Megan was at a 4.   So we figured there was still a good chunk of time left before the baby would be ready to come out.  However, things went into turbo speed as around 12:35 or so Megan was dialated at a 10 and the nurse saying it is time for having a baby!   Megan's sister Kristen was on her way over to the hospital to offer support during the delivery and I was worried if she would get there in time after the quick shift in expected delivery time.  But Kristen made it in perfect timing a few minutes before the actual pushing started.   And to my amazement after about 10 minutes of pushing, we were holding a BEAUTIFUL little girl.  She was born at approximately 1:00 PM MST and weighed in at 7 lbs and was 19.5 inches long.    Megan did just awesome through the whole delivery and is recovering well.

 

The only downside through the whole delivery, is that during the delivery the Dr. (who is a Ute fan and who knows I am bigtime Cougar fan) pointed out to me that the towell that was being used during the delivery had a Ute emblem on them.  (He must have snuck that in)   Since the pushing had started, I just bit the bullet and pushed on.  I mean I bit the bullet and Megan pushed on no pun intended :)     The nurses and Dr. Barton were just great during the whole labor and delivery process. 

 

Grandma graciously came down from Idaho to be with Libby and Ella these next couple of days and so she came with Libby and Ella to the hospital in the afternoon.  The older sisters were so excited to see their little sis.    They got to see the nurse give their little sis a bath and just loved it. 

 

Thanks again to all for your love and support!!!

 

 

 

Tonight, Libby celebrated her big graduation from Preschool.  As she tells me, "I'm never ever going to go to preschool again, ever in my whole life!"  She has been so excited about this, and has been practicing her songs constantly.  They had a short singing program and then a musical production of The Three Little Pigs, and then ended the show with On The Goodship Lollypop.  Finally she got to put on her cap and gown ("real ones Mom, like what GJ wore at BYU's Graduation").  She recieved her dipolma and we called it a night.

It really is amazing to me how much she has grown up over the last year.  It's exciting and a little sad to see her growning up into a beautiful, bright, amazing girl.  She brings so much love and joy to all those who know her and I know she is anxious to share her smile with the world of Kindergarten in a few more months.

We had a really fun Easter Weekend.  On Saturday GJ's BYU Events class was putting on a huge Easter Eggs-traveganza at the Young Living Farm in Mona, Utah.  Before we could get there though, Sean insisted on stopping at the BYU baseball fields for an Egg Hunt with Cosmo the Cougar.  Unfortunatly, it was very poorly organized and all children from ages 3-12 were supposed to hunt at the same time in the same area.  Needless to say, by the time the girls made it down the bleachers and onto the field there wasn't even a wrapper of candy left.  Poor Ella just kept running and saying, "but I don't see any eggs!?"  Libby was in tears, but they weren't the only ones who didn't find anything.  To make up for it Cosmo gave them each a Cosmo Kids Club t-shirt.....from 2004-2005.  Libby said, "this is better than candy!"

The girls faired much better at the Egg Hunt at the farm.  They had a great time, and loved meeting the EasterBunny.  We also went on a paddle boat ride (where we witnessed 2 larger ladies fall out of their boats and into the pond, Ella said, "Little girls won't fall off, only the big girls fall in right?), carriage ride, petting zoo, and a tea party with the Easter Bunny and Lavender Princess.  Libby, Sean and Aunt Amelia also attempted the rock wall.

It was a really fun day and we were all dirty, hot and tired by the end of the day.

 

We, so far, have had a very nice Sunday.  We walked to and from church today and had a wonderful Fast and Testimony meeting.  We are now cooking our Easter dinner and awaiting for the Aunts and Uncles to come for dinner and yet another egg hunt.

 

Love you all!

 

 

 

We drove up to Idaho for the weekend so Sean could help with the harvest.  We spent the night with Robert, Leslie and Braxton on Friday and got up early Saturday morning to take the boat out.  Sean wakeboarded, and the girls and I rode in the boat.  Libby loved it, and Ella hated it.  She cried whenever Sean would fall, and kept saying, "get back in here right now Dad!"  Then the four of us rode on the tub, again Libby loved it and Ella hated it.  She cried the whole time.  Finally she got back into the boat and helped Robert drive while the three of us rode.

We drove up to the ranch, and got there about noon.  Sean went straight out to the fields and drove combine until about 11 pm that night.  The girls had a great time playing with Grandma, and feeding the horses.  After church on Sunday, Sean and I took the girls on an "explore" through the tall grass and the quakie trees and then on a four wheeler drive.  Sean got up early on Monday morning and was back on the combine before the girls and I even got up.  We spent the day in Driggs with Grandma.  Sean finished up about 5, and we gathered up our things and headed for home.  We stopped in Idaho Falls for about an hour and visited with Nathan and Krista and the cousins all got to play.

We are so gratefull to be close enough to visit and make trips up there often.

It has been brought to my attention that I am doing a poor job of keeping this site updated.  So, instead of cleaning my kitchen, or unpacking a few more boxes, here I sit updating our little website for all of you!

We have packed up and said goodbye to good friends and our first home in Oregon to move to Utah.  We decided we needed to be closer to our families, and I think Sean mentioned something about being able to use all of his BYU season tickets this year.  Unfortunatly, we weren't able to move into our new home right away, so we unloaded our moving truck, van, pick-up truck, and u-haul trailer into the garage of the new house and spent the next 5 weeks living as nomads.

Sean's cousin Elton and his wife Jenn were kind enough to let him crash there so he could start his new job in his new group.  The girls and I drove up to Idaho for about a week, and then down to California for the rest of our homelessness.  Sean tried to join us on the weekends when he could, he claims to have missed his girls, but I think he was enjoying the golfing, and movies, and just getting to do his own thing for awhile.

Sean did make it up to Idaho for the weekend of cow branding.  What an experience that is!  I was afraid Libby was going to hate the smell, but she stepped out of the truck and said, "ummmmm, I just love that smell!  Don't you?"  Yes, we all love the smell of cow manure and burning cow hide....She has now decided she doesn't want to be a princess she wants to be a cowgirl!  Sean had the misfortune of getting kicked by a bull and getting slashed on the face with a metal bar from the shute.  He and I got to check out the urgent care center in Rexburg and get his face glued shut.  He was very brave for his tetnus shot.  They even gave him a sucker for putting on such a brave face.

I drove the girls to California the next week.  How I survived 10 hours in the van with only the company of a 2 year old and a 4 year old I will never know.  But we did survive and the girls were great little travelers.  We spent the next 4 weeks or so at my parent's house, swimming, going to the beach, and visiting all the zoos and museums I used to go to as a girl.  The girls loved being there and being able to get back into some kind of a routine was good for them.  Poppy built them a swing in the last remaining oak tree.  He always told us a swing would ruin the grass, but for his grand-daughter's it's okay I guess.  Libby loved going to the street fair with Poppy and going to get Mexican food.  Ella loved playing in the backyard, and climbing up the bunk beds and getting "stuck" on the top.  Her first day there she loved the pool so much that she jumped right in with her floaty ring and couldn't get her head up out of the water.  Thank goodness Marmie was there to pull her out.  After that experience she decided she didn't want to go swimming "anymore times!  Okaaaaayyy?!" 

Sean surprised us one night by flying into Lax, taking the train  and then a bus that dropped him off about 2 1/2 miles from my parent's house.  He walked the rest of the way all the time talking to Libby on the phone.  About 10:30 that night my dad and I opened the door to a very hot and sweaty Sean.  We were all surprised and grateful to have him show up.

AFter a fun 4th of July reunion with the Stowell cousins (which included a trip to the Hollywood Bowl for a Kenny Loggins concert) we finally drove back to Utah on July 5.  Sean flew back that morning and my Mom and Erin and I drove the girls.  After another 10 hour drive, we finally pulled into our new driveway.  Libby was so excited it almost made me cry!  I don't know if they were more excited to be out of the car or in their new house, either way it was great to be here.

We've spent the last several weeks unpacking and finding out where everything is.  Libby has started swimming lessons and both are ready to start a dance class in a few weeks.  I've signed up to do a mini-triathlon--I was thinking it would force me to get back into a work-out schedule but now I think I'm just crazy.

The ward and neighborhood have been great.  And it has been so fun to be close to family.  We've done a lot with my brothers and their wives and my sister.  Sean's mom and sister and nephew were down for about 2 weeks and we've had  a great time with them.

It's great to finally be home again.

Okay, so I just typed out an entire page on our adventures, and it just vanished!   I will try to go again....

 

We have finally had some great (read not raining) weather here.  We rode bikes to the park the other day with some friends and had a great time.  Libby was so proud to have ridden her bike her whole way there.

Today my friend Charie and  took the kids and drove to the beach.  It turned out to be a beautiful day.  We drove out to Ecola State Park and walked out to the lookout to see if we could spot any migrating whales.  We didn't find any but if you ask Ella she will tell you she saw "two big ones!  Whales way out there Mom!" 

Charie and I decided we would take the kids down to the sand to dig and run and play.  I don't know what we were thinking when we decided to walk instead of drive.  Two Moms with 5 kids ages 4 and under, and a stroller loaded down with all the supplies we might possibly need.

Our walk turned out to be a mile and a half hike through the beautiful forest down to the beach below.  I had Ella in the backpack and was holding on to Libby (We weren't sure she was going to make it, this girl who poops out walking to the park behind our house).  She did great, and walked the whole way there!  Charie had Evie in her backpack and was pushing the stroller through the mud and over roots and logs, while her other two were running ahead the whole way.

45 minutes later we made it!  The beach was beautiful, the sun was just getting ready to set, and the kids had a blast!  They played in the sand and stomped in the waves in their rain boots.  A surfer came out and let Ella try out his surf board, the other kids were to scared to get on, but Ella hopped right on there!

It was a wonderful day, and we are sure going to miss the beauty that Oregon has to offer!