Clark Stanley Purcell

And now we have 3! New Grandbabies that is.  Brian and Celia welcomed their new son, Clark Stanley Purcell on June 18, 2015 at 7:31 am, in Idaho Falls.  He weighed 6 lbs, 12 oz, and was 19 inches long.  He doesn't look like Maden or Annie too much, but he sure is a cutie! 

These are the first photos Brian sent after he was born. Already found his thumb!

Proud parents!

Cute little boy.

Meeting Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Great Purcell.

Nikelle and Courtney holding Clark. Jared and Randy were there too, just didn't get pictures of them.  Molly and Ryder waited in the lobby while their parents went to meet Clark.

Maden got to meet his little brother and hug and kiss him. He also explained to him the best way to suck his thumb, and then sang a very cute rendition of "Popcorn Popping". 

Clark wasn't very impressed with the car seat when it was time to go home. But, it looks like things are great once he made it home.

We love you Clark! We are so glad you are here safe and sound. We can't wait to watch you grow!

Grandkids!

These past few weeks have been full of some of my favorite things! Grandkids! I'm in heaven!

We've had a couple of sleepovers with Maden and Annie. It's so much fun! I hope all my grandkids will always want to come to my house. Molly is growing so fast and seems huge compared to Ryder. It's so fun to catch her smiling. It's so fun to see Ryder change every day. 

This is Memorial Day.  Molly and Ryder get to meet for the 1st time.  I love how Annie found  a way to entertain herself. All the adults were pretty tired that day.

More pictures of the babies! Soon there will be 3!

Bedtime stories, watching Mickey Mouse and swinging are some of Maden and Annie's favorite things to do at our house. Maden had to try out the baby swing, he's huge in it. Pretty flowers, but the cutest kids!  Maden was so glad his parents got him some headphones so the noise doesn't bother him when he rides on the lawnmower.

Being grandparents is the best thing ever. I simply can't get enough of these kids. We can't wait for the next one to come! I'm so thankful that their parents are willing to share their kids with us so often!

Ryder Mark Purcell

We have another new grandson! Randy and Courtney welcomed Ryder Mark Purcell into the world at 8:28pm on  May 23, 2015 in Idaho Falls! He weighed 7 lbs, 2 oz and was 21 inches long. He was 12 days early, and surprised us all with a head full of dark hair. Sweet, sweet baby boy.

Here he is! He didn't cry when he was born and just kept looking around.

This is the waiting game during the day before he was born. I think the nurse putting the IV in was a little intimidated with Blake and Randy watching and asking so many questions and making so many comments.

Blake and I were waiting in the waiting room for our turn to see this little man.  So fun to meet these little people so soon after they're born. Brian came to the hospital too, mainly because he could! He lives close now!

Sunday, May 24th

Finally a picture of Mommy Courtney and her little one. Ryder is so handsome after his bath. First family picture! Love the smile on Randy's face! (I think he was teaching Ryder to watch basketball!) It's so fun to watch my kids become parents!

There were a lot of visitors, Grandma Great Purcell, Brian, Celia, Maden and Annie and Jared and Nikelle. Courtney's family all came from Utah in time for the birth and were there visiting too.  Everyone is so happy that Ryder is here!

Monday, May 25th (Memorial Day)

Going home! It's hard work getting a new little one ready to go home.  He looks so tiny in his car seat!

Tuesday, May 26th

I got to go spend a couple of nights with this little man.  He pulls some really funny faces. We gave him his first "bath". It's really different to bathe a baby with all that hair!

Wednesday, May 27th

A little photo shoot.  Look at all these faces! I just can't get enough of him!

Just some more snapshots of Ryder.

I love you Ryder! We are so glad you are part of our family. We are so excited to watch you grow. I am so thankful I could spend so much time with you in your first days of life!

Fishing and Mowing

Friday, May 22, 2015

We went to "Terry's Fishing Pond" The water was really low, so it was hard to cast in that far. Annie wanted to fish, but she was pretty scared when Blake pulled one in. 

This little fishing trip ended up causing a big problem for Brian.  He was going down the bank to get closer to the water and slipped and fell, landing on his right shoulder. He knew immediately that it was dislocated, he was in tremendous pain.  Blake went down the bank to help him get up and fell also! When they both finally got up to the top, they left to take Brian to the emergency room.  They were lucky that Dr. Joe was working and he was able to put it back in place easily.  He recommended that he get an MRI to make sure that there was no further damage.  He was able to have the MRI on Tuesday and see the Dr. on Friday, sadly there is a tear in the ligament on the top of the shoulder. He will be having surgery on Tuesday, June 2nd. This is a real bump in the road as far as getting to work soon.  Hopefully he can recover quickly!

Later that afternoon, Blake mowed their lawn. The kids loved riding on the mower, but Maden didn't like the noise. They had a great time playing in the grass in the trailer. You can see Brian is holding his shoulder and the mud on his pants from his fall.

Family time!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

We decided to have everyone come for Sunday dinner. It was so great to be home and have Brian's family close! 

Maden and Annie had a great time chasing bubbles and popping bubbles.

Courtney, Celia and Nikelle spectating and helping blow some bubbles for Annie.

They had fun on their bike and trike. Even Molly got to come outside!

The boys had a great time playing a game of "21". Then, even the girls joined in on a game of "Horse". 

Annie got hungry again, so we came in for a sandwich and to hold Molly.  

It was a fun day! Hope there are many more like it!

Graduation and Moving Back!

May 8-16, 2015

Brian finished Anesthesia school! It's been a long 28 months, but he did it! Blake & I flew to Erie for the last time on Friday, May 8th.

Saturday, May 9

Look who we found in the hotel on Saturday morning!

We went down by Lake Erie to take some pictures.  Top left, Brian and his cute little family. It was so nice that Ken and Cindy could come for the big graduation day.  Celia's parents Mike and Grace and grandma Jenny Clift were there to help celebrate too.

After pictures we went to lunch at Texas Roadhouse.

Graduation was held in a nice big room in a hotel.  There was a nice dinner before the graduation. 

They had these nice pictures up on the big screens as they called the graduates name. We are so proud of you Brian! Maden got really bored and tired, so he just went to sleep. 

Sunday, May 10

Since Brian is going to be working with Blake, they are moving back to Idaho! Blake and I were driving a car home for them. We started heading west about 8:30 Sunday morning.  Annie and Maden thought it was fun to pick some "flowers" at a gas station somewhere in Ohio.

We arrived at Cindy and Ken's about 4pm. I don't know why these are the only pictures I took there! We just chilled out and rested up to get ready for our long car rides. Thanks for a great pit stop, Cindy and Ken!

Monday, May 11

We got up really early and were on the road about 6.  It was raining really hard about the time we hit Chicago, then we had some pretty strong crosswinds the rest of the day.  We planned to travel about 10 hours and stop in Kearny, NE.

We stayed at an AmericInn in Kearny.  Maden was thrilled that there was a chess set in the lobby. He taught Grandpa and I a few things about the game.

Everyone enjoying being out of the car and having some swimming time at the hotel.

Tuesday, May 12

Once again, we got up early and hit the road. We had another 10 hour drive to reach Wolf Creek Resort near Ogden, UT. Once again we had some strong crosswinds, but they were coming from the opposite direction this time.

We spent a long time in the car with only two stops, and they were very short stops, just to get gas and use the restroom.  Annie and Maden were amazing little travelers! We all cheered when we saw the sign saying we were in the Mountain Time Zone.

There was quite a bit of snow along the way in Nebraska and Wyoming.

We went to the hot tub at the resort, Blake had a spider that looked like it crawled out of his belly button! Don't know where that came from! Annie thought the hot tub was too hot.

Wednesday, May 13

Brian passed his Boards! It was a very hard test, and he had a miracle and passed! Now everything is sent in and he's just waiting to get his license!

We made it home to Blackfoot! Maden wanted to play pool first thing. Annie just had fun rediscovering everything. She loved swinging, and Maden loved picking up pine cones with Grandpa. Annie thought this magnet toy made a good camera, she's telling me to say "cheese". The kids stayed with us and Brian and Celia went and slept in their new bed in the home they've rented in Idaho Falls.

Thursday, May 14

They loved using both sinks to brush their teeth, playing with the toys and playing more pool.  Nikelle brought Molly to meet her cousins, Annie loved the baby and wanted to hold her a lot.  Grandpa got a bunch of fingernails cut, but not Maden's! Annie went with Grandpa to the John Deere store and thought the trike there was really fun.

Maden got in the hot tub, but Annie thought it was too hot. Then suddenly she thought it would be ok. They had a great time!

Saturday, May 16

Brian decided to have their belongings shipped via UHaul Pods.  Cindy and Ken had gone to Erie the week before graduation to help them load the pods.  They got it all in 2 and sent them on their way.  The pods arrived in Idaho Falls on Friday, and we went to pick them up on Saturday morning. Of course, it rained the whole morning.

They were packed pretty tight. Randy, Blake, Jared, Brian and Maden had them unloaded in about 1 1/2 hour.  Maden thought he was one of the big boys and they found boxes that he could lift.  He loved helping.

After everything was unloaded, we got some pizza. It was nice to have so many chairs to sit on.  The kids were excited to find their trikes and bikes and try them out on the new driveway. Courtney even had to try out the little bike.  

We are so excited to have Brian, Celia, Maden, Annie and the new little one who will arrive next month back in Idaho again!

Molly's Blessing Day

May 3, 2015

A very special day for this little family.  Molly was blessed by her daddy! She was dressed in the same dress Nikelle was blessed in, she looked like a sweet little angel.

Driveway Project

May 1, 2015

Randy decided to enlarge his driveway by taking out some trees and bringing some gravel in. The area was not included with the sprinkler system, so it was hard to water and keep up. He took the trees out a couple of weeks ago, then sprayed the grass so it would die. The gravel arrived this morning.

Blake and Randy tried to just move the gravel around with shovels and a wheel barrow, it didn't take long to decide that there had to be a better way.  They borrowed Steve McClellan's tractor (Blake just drove it over). It was wonderful, it turned what would have been an all day job into about an hour.  It turned out very nice and level and will increase the parking greatly.

Temple, Baby Shower and Tulip Festival

April 16 & 17, 2015

Blake, Randy, Courtney and I loaded up in Red and took a little trip to Lehi and Orem, Utah.  Randy and Courtney needed to get some baby supplies from Courtney's sister Megan, and Blake & I wanted to go to a temple.  Megan was giving a shower for Courtney on Saturday and we wanted to go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  We did it all!

Since the Idaho Falls temple is closed for renovations, we decided that we would go to the Mt. Timpanogas temple. Blake and I dropped Randy & Courtney off at her parents, then went to the temple on Friday night.

Then, on Saturday, Blake took me back to Courtney's parents house for the baby shower. It was a very nice shower, and she got a lot of nice things.  While the shower was going on, Blake and Randy went and fixed Courtney's sister Makala's car and went test driving some cars.  Then they came back and got Courtney and I, we loaded up all her presents and headed out.  We stopped at an outlet mall, then went to the Tulip Festival.

It was a little different than I thought it would be, but there were a lot of beautiful tulips. I just thought it would be fields of tulips like you see in the movies in Holland. They were just spread out through the gardens.

There were tulips of every color! We did a ton of walking and I was amazed at how I didn't hurt at all! It was wonderful!