Duck Creek Village

This past weekend, we had the great opportunity to go on vacation with my side of the family. We headed down to Duck Creek Village in southern Utah on Saturday. It was such a fun trip! 

We stayed in a nice cabin that had plenty of room for all of us, but tons of common space to allow us to have good, quality, family time together.

The first day for our family was just about getting there, getting settled in, and start out by relaxing. The following day was when the real fun began. We started out by hiking the Queen's Garden Trail that was supposedly little kid and elderly people friendly. Sounded like my kind of hike. It was really fun, and the kids did just fine, but I don't know that I'd say it was super kid friendly. 😂 We all did have a great time, though. I felt really accomplished by the time I was done. It's been awhile since I've done a hike like that. Joe was strapped to me the whole time, but he did really well and was asleep for most of it. I was really anxious at first with the heights. I really had to talk to myself about staying calm, as I am absolutely terrified of heights. Lol. I didn't let them get the better of me, though. 

It was BEAUTIFUL, and the hoodoos were so awesome. We saw what we thought was the Thor's hammer hoodoo, but it wasn't it. It's pretty similar, though. 

Lila was hilarious! She loved looking at all the different shapes and sizes, and at one point she exclaimed "Mama, look at that huge Doodoo!!!" It was so adorable. We all had a good laugh with that one. I did tell her what it really is called. :)

The kids were able to pick out a souvenir. Lila got some cool, shiny rocks to add to her collection, and Brighton got a pocket knife. He was obsessed with it the rest of the day. Immediately when we returned to the cabin he started cutting grass and bugs (I know, gross), and began stabbing the ground, "whittling" sticks, and all sorts of other adventures. Micah talked to him about knife safety before we cut him loose, and he honestly did very well, considering it is his first knife.

The rest of the day we relaxed at the cabin. I wasn't feeling super great in the afternoon and evening, but karaoke was going on, and I had to hear the great talents of my family. The kids went first, and were super cute. Lila won the kid category and got a sparkly blue microphone. She couldn't believe it! It was everything that she had been hoping for, and the microphone really made the vacation for her. Brighton did a really great job, too. I was honestly so proud of both of them for just getting up and sharing their talents. Micah even got up!

The rest of the evening was filled with games, and sleep a little bit earlier on.

Monday was our family's last day there, as I had work the next day, but it was still filled with lots of fun. The morning was another hike. This time we went to Cascade Falls. It was amazing! I loved the hike!!! Again, the kids did amazingly well, and Joey even stayed awake on this one! I think he loved how peaceful it was being strapped to his mama and being out in nature. 😊😉

After the hike, we once again headed back to the cabin and enjoyed the afternoon being lazy and playing games. 

It was a really great vacation and I'd definitely love to return some day. The kids did such a great job and had so much fun! Micah was such a good sport through all of it, and definitely helped me to have a great time.

We hope to see you again, Duck Creek! 

The only real hiccup, was actually right at the very end of the trip. The kids honestly slept 95% of the time on the way home. It was amazing! We thought it was going to be a super smooth end to our wonderful trip, when just after we passed the last exit before ours, we got stuck in a traffic jam. Then, when we finally made it to our exit, it turned out that the direct path to home was closed due to construction, so we had to take a detour. It ended up adding 15 minutes to the end of our trip. Not a big deal, but it was so funny how everything else was perfect, right until the very end. Isn't that how it goes?!

I'm putting all of the pictures at the end, because it's just easier that way. :) Also, they are in no particular order. More will be added as I get them from fellow family members. 

 

ONE

My dearest Joseph,

   Today you are one. I cannot believe it! Baby boy, you are our whole family's pride and joy. You know, I prayed for you for a long time. I had to wait longer for you to come to our family than I wanted, but maybe that's how it was supposed to be. Maybe it helped me to cherish and love you that much more. A sincere longing in my heart and in my prayers was answered. Heavenly Father heard and answered me, His daughter. He answered me in the best way that I could possibly imagine; with a pure and gentle soul. I knew that our family was not going to be complete without another child, and that other child that I longed for was you.
   When you came into this world, I wasn't scared. I know it sounds strange, but I wasn't! I was with the first two, but I knew you were meant to be with our family. There was only peace and pure love in my heart, from the moment I laid eyes on you.
   Joey I want you to know how loved you are, not only from your father and me, but also from Lila and Brighton. I've never seen them adore, dote on, or love anyone so much as they do those things for you. Your sister and brother would do anything for you. Remember that in the future. They are people that you will always be able to rely on. They will always love you, for you are a part of their eternal family. They want to be with you forever and ever. They will always stand up for you, take care of you, and be by your side whenever you need them.
   Joey, you have brought the ultimate joy and happiness to our family. We were happy before, but I cannot describe how much you have exponentially changed the level of joy that we feel. We laugh more together, we play more together, we just love to hang around each other more. You did that. You brought us closer than ever. We always want to be around each other, because we always want to be around you. Your smile lights up the dark, makes our hearts swell, and reminds us of the everlasting love that our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ have for us. I want you to know how much They love you, as well.
   This first year of your life has been amazing. You've definitely given your father and I challenges in different ways than Lila and Brighton. You've also given us happiness in more ways than ever before. You had a hard start in life, like your brother, but just like him, you've grown strong and kind. I cannot wait to hear what you'll have to say when you really start talking. I'm trying to patient, but I'm very much looking forward to conversations with my baby. ;)
   I want you to know, Joey, that I have a testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He died for me, as He did for you, but also remember that HE LIVES! He is our Savior and Redeemer now and forever. Because of the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son, we get to live in this beautiful world and will one day return to a heaven unlike anything we can imagine. There we will have forever. Please stay close to Them. Please seek Them in your everyday life. Turn to Them always. Remember that YOU are a Child of God.
   Joey, thank you for being our son, our brother, our friend. Thank you for your incredible spirit. Thank you for bringing us closer to our heavenly family. Thank you for being you!

                                                                                                                  Love always,

  Mom

The birth story of Micah Joseph Pratt, Jr.

I woke up around 2:00 in the morning with some uncomfortable contractions. At the time I thought it was just Braxton-Hicks as I had been experiencing them most of my pregnancy. I knew that it was possible that I was headed toward real labor as I had just hit 34 weeks and that's when Brighton came, but I still wasn't quite ready to jump to that conclusion. I walked around my bedroom for a bit, going back and forth between my bed and the bathroom. Poor Micah could not sleep through my motions. Just after 3:00 I told Micah that I thought we should maybe take the kids to my mum's and then head to the hospital. Of course, we did not have the hospital bag ready to go. You'd think I would've learned from our experience with Brighton. I got in the shower, then prepared my hospital bag. We woke up the kids and got all of their stuff together to have a fun day at grandma's.

{Did I mention that I had a birthday party scheduled for them that day? Yeah... June 9th was supposed to be Lila and Brighton's combined "Magic School Bus" party at my mum's house. Thankfully, I had packed all of the stuff I would need in a bag the night before, so that it would be easy to grab everything and head to my mum's house to set up for the party. The little things, right? I'll blog about their party later.}

During the 4:00 hour I called my mum to see if my kids could come over and finish out their sleeping at her house. Of course, she said yes. By 4:30 we were on our way over. While driving there, my water began to break. At first I wasn't quite sure if it had broken or if the contractions were making it difficult for me to control myself. TMI, haha. With every minute passing by and with each slight movement in my seat in the car, I became more and more sure that my water was broken. This baby was coming today. We pulled up to my mum's house at 4:58, Micah ran the kids inside, then we sped to the hospital. Thank goodness it was in the middle of the night!

I felt bad walking into the hospital. There was a trail of fluid following me everywhere I went. The reception desk in the maternity ward had a puddle by them by the time I was done there. They checked me in and the next phase began.

I had hoped to have a VBAC again after my success with Brighton. Little baby boy was not having it, though. His sweet little arm was up over his head and his hand came down across his face. The nurses and doctor tried to move him around. They had me laying in different positions to see if he would budge, but he was firm in his position. Finally, the decision was made to have a c-section. It was nice that it wasn't an emergency like with Lila.

We went into the room to have the surgery and everything went fine. I felt pretty out of it again, like I did with Lila, but it was still a great experience. Before I knew it, our little guy was here at 8:18 a.m. Micah Joseph Pratt, Jr. was just as beautiful as can be. I cried the moment I saw him. I couldn't believe that our family was finally complete. I could just feel it in my heart that he was meant to be with us. You could tell which arm had been stuck on top of his head. The poor thing was a dark purple. Thankfully he could at least move it. The nurses said only time would tell if any problems would come because of it. (Later we knew that there were no lasting effects. It was just a giant bruise. :( )

     

He had some difficulty breathing on his own, like Brighton, and a few other problems, so I knew that he would be admitted into the Level II nursery. I struggled with my recovery a little more this time, as well. It took more than a day for them to get my blood pressure up. When I first saw him again in the Level I nursery, they wheeled me in on my hospital bed as I wasn't strong enough to even get into a wheelchair. I almost passed out while holding him for the first time, and threw up only a few moments after seeing him. I had to ask them to take him back before I dropped him. The next time I went in to see him, I was in a wheelchair, and a similar thing happened. I would pass out in my room while the nurses were in talking to me, but eventually everything evened itself out.

The rest of my time in the hospital went pretty smoothly. I knew the drill from doing things with Brighton. Pump in bedroom, get up and walk around to help me recover from the c-section, walk down the hall to see baby Joe, watch him in his bed, and occasionally get the chance to hold him, head back to my room and watch TV alone, then start the routine all over again. (The other kids didn't come the first day because they wouldn't have been able to see Joey)

It's pretty monotonous for me in the hospital because I can't have my babies in my room with me. The boredom makes me go a little stir crazy, so as with Brighton, I left the hospital a day before I had to, to get back to life. The hardest part was walking out those doors without my baby. I, of course, cried, but I also knew that he was in very capable and loving hands.

I can't believe it! He's finally here! Our precious little one that made our family whole. 💕

Welcome to the world, baby Joe!