We're back.............Again.............For a while.............Going private.

Wow!!!!! It's been a while, sorry. Been a super crazy year but we'll boil it down to a few major events.

Troy's deployment was cancelled last minute in Aug. 2011, and in the end, he resigned his commission and is now an enlisted soldier and is much happier than he has been in years. He still misses flying but it was the right choice.

Next development was that we bought a house in November in Salt Lake valley. Houses cost a lot more money than you ever would plan on. We've never done home improvements so now we are having our baptism by fire.

Last major development, are you ready???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our stubborn little boy finally made his long delayed entrance into this world on August 7th and 1659 mountain time. He was 7lbs. 14.5 oz's and 9 days late. I was in labor for 34 hours compared to Makena's 28. Probably the biggest difference between the two was the use of drugs this time. Makena was au-naturale and little Shane was drugged. Epidurals- yeah!

Shane is a healthy little boy and has already gained nearly a pound. He has failed some hearing tests with his left ear but the doctors aren't too worried yet. Shane was born with 1/4 inch dark hair and dark blue eyes. Makena's blonde hair and light blue eyes next to Shane with his dark hair and dark blue eyes are a great sight. Two cute little children to brighten our lives immeasurably! He's a mellow little boy and spends a lot of the day observing what's going on. He sleeps well at night and doesn't cry much. Makena has been a great big sister for the most part. She does have a few episodes but really loves holding and feeding him. She loves to be around him and tell people about her little bro. It's been great to have him and he's the cutest little thing. Of course we are VERY biased.

Sorry to go on, but we're a little excited!

Hope things are well in your world and that you've all been doing great. Drop a line some time and we'll try to be better and do the same. Take care to all and GOD BLESS!!!!

PS- going private in a while so leave your email as a comment or email to twikle1@yahoo.com. Thanks.

Troy, Rebekah, Makena and Shane.

To Pee or Not to Pee? That is the Question!

Flashback: I'm hanging on the side wall of the swimming pool with five minutes to go before swim lessons are over. I can't hold it any more I have got to pee. My, "please can I go to the bathroom?," is turned down by my instructor. Extremely annoyed and ready to explode I turn to the girl next to me and ask, "how come you never ask to go to the bathroom?" She responds with, "I just pee in the pool." I ask the boy on the other side and he responds like wise. Shock and horror!!! All these years I had been swimming in a giant toilet bowl.

Today: I'm chatting with a lady when all of a sudden her thirteen month old snot rockets into the swimming pool. Instead of going to the bathroom to wipe his nose she says, "Ew, ca-ca's" and wipes it with her fingers, holds it for a second as if I would look away or forget, then washes it off in the water. (At this point I have visions of Fort Rucker and scooping up loogies during water aerobics running through my head followed by inner shuddering.) Seriously lady, ya, it's your kid but what if every other mother did the exact same thing? Gross!!! I had to put it out of my mind in order to continue swimming with Makena.

So friends...what are your thoughts about the cesspools that we so gladly let our children play in. Are we at peace with the fact that even though hundreds of people have peed in the pool they are able to balance the PH with a little chlorine and other chemicals? or are we dry heaving at the idea of swimming in recycled toilet water? Is it ok to wipe your nose, your kids nose or anyone else's nose in the swimming pool? Today I would say heck no!!!

Am I overreacting? Of course, but when I relive these past traumatic experiences it takes me a while to calm down. I'm just saying that it might be a while before Makena and I head back to the pool.

More Winds of Change!

So are you ready for this!

Troy's deployment was cancelled last minute. They found out in mid August, just 3 weeks before they were supposed to leave to Texas. Troy did just over a month of pre-deployment training before he got the news. When he came home, Makena wouldn't let Troy put her down for hours. Even after, every time he started to leave the room, she would immediately drop everything and stay by his side. Good news for us as a family but bad news in many ways.

In preparation for the deployment we had sold Troy's commuter car, moved Rebekah and Makena to Southern Utah and all our stuff into storage, and Troy quit his job. After the deployment was cancelled and the shock wore off Troy began aggressively looking for a job, a car, and a home. A month later, within a weeks time Troy was able to procure a job, a car, and a home.

The house we were trying to buy in the spring fell thru, but we have now found one in a central location that both of us are excited about. The inspection came up with a number of trivial issues and only 1 possible minor issue. Another bonus to this is that it has rentable basement.

The state's military command has been very helpful and placed all those in need on temporary orders for a month to buy time for job/vehicle and housing searches. What a blessing that was. They arranged job fairs, resume classes, VA reps to help with job hunting and numerous efforts to help all the students get back into classes on time.

It's hard to know the reasons why things happen the way they do, but we can take faith that Heavenly Father always has a master plan that someday we will come to recognize. It just takes the time and effort to recognize how he has manipulated the pieces to come into place and then we must be thankful for what He has done to help us.

It has been a very stressful, busy yet productive time since the news first broke. What a ride!

Hope you are all doing well and hope to hear from you soon!!!

P.S.- Captions for the pics. 1st is Troy's bro. They came and visited while Troy was training. Makena took to him immediately and wanted him to put her in the car and sit with her the entire time. 2nd pic- Makena did not want to get off the horse, she absolutely loved every minute of it. 3rd pic-the tire only had about 500-800 miles on it. Didn't even find a piece of the tread. 3-5 seconds of thumping and almost lost control on the freeway! Glad it wasn't the front tire! Car prayers, yeah! 4th pic- Haven't had a family pic in a while. That's about as good a smile as you'll get out of Troy.

Winds of Change

It's time to get my blog on again. Sorry that I have been such a slacker for the last two years. Being so close to family and old friends has lulled me into a sense of carnal security and blog abandonment. But today I will throw off this cloak of passivity and join my fellow bloggers in keeping the world informed of our adventures.

Speaking of adventures, Troy is leaving for military training July ninth and will eventually end up in Iraq. I will be residing with my parents in southern Utah. Am I excited for this change? Yes and No. I have always loved change and adventure but this one is bitter sweet. I will enjoy being close to family and making new memories with my daughter. But I am not excited about being separated from Troy.

How are we going to bare it? As the teacher in Relief Society put it so nicely today..."I signed up for this but I do not have to do it alone." So that is how so many men and women throughout the history of the world have dealt with similar situations. Whether they knew it or not they were being watched over and blessed by a power greater than themselves. And so shall we!

Fair Winds!

Rebekah Wikle

Caterpillar

Makena brought home her first craft project from nursery a Caterpillar. It did have fruity cereal on it but Makena ate them off before I got a picture. Yummy!

Makena's Birthday

Makena and her friend Sophie went to Boondocks for an evening of adventure and fun.

Here's a picture of Makena and her Daddy licking the frosting of the beaters.

She asks to watch Shrek every day so I made her "Sprinkles the Ogre" cupcakes for her birthday.

Happy Second Birthday Makena!

Been a while!!!

Life has been busy the last few months. Makena's growing up so fast. Such a big personality already. She definitely knows what she wants, is stubborn and isn't afraid to let us know about it. But she is also such a sweet and beautiful girl. We frequently have song and/or dance recitals thanks to Makena, almost any time she hears music with a good beat. Makena will be 2 in May, just 2 days before our sixth anniversary. Oh what fun she's been.

I've been super busy with Makena, Relief Society counselor duties and being a mother and doing a pretty good job of it too!!! Troy has been busy with security guard work and then doing National Guard. He has recently been able to fly again, after sitting for 2 years. He's nervous but doing well and desperately wants to do a family flyover sometime ("negative ghost rider, the pattern is full"). We'll see how that goes.

The bank recently approved our offer on a home. Hopefully we will be moving around mid May. Troy will start full-time military duties in July in prep for the deployment in September. 1 1/2 months in the home before Troy leaves but at least we'll have a home, finally!

Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween! We took Makena trick-or-treating hoping that it would be more fun for her this year than last. Well, it wasn't. Makena was so grumpy that she sat in her stroller the whole time and glared at people from underneath her duck costume. It was so cold and windy that Troy and I gave up after only five houses. Better yet, after being home for five minutes we got trick-or-treaters and ended up giving away what little candy we had just accumulated. Thank goodness Target had their Halloween candy on sale 50% off.

Rebekah, Troy, and Makena the Duck

Me and a friend with our Jack-o-lanterns

Happy Birthday Makena!

We took a family vacation to Oregon to celebrate Makena's first birthday and our fifth anniversary. We visited Grandma Wikle, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Lola, and their respective family members. It was a lovely trip. However I've decided that family trips should be kept closer to home while our children are very young. We've been home for two days and the car lag is finally wearing off. I was starting to go crazy in the back seat of the car for two days in a row with a restless toddler.

Mother's Day breakfast.

The breakfast makers.

Troy, Makena, and Rebekah
at Silver Falls State Park

Aunt Lola and fam

Makena and Daddy

Makena and Grandma Wikle


Thanks to the Wikle's and their fantastic hospitality. We loved every minute.

Cinderella

Makena loves to help me with the daily chores. Her favorite is helping Mom with the laundry.

Makena also loves to chew on citrus fruit.

After a tough day on the home front nothing beats a good meal and a nap.