Bennett had a great time celebrating his 4th birthday. He was very excited! After a big breakfast, we headed off for a day at the Oregon Zoo.
Our fertility specialist's office was hosting a big luncheon at the zoo that day. So we took our picture with the man who helped bring Bennett (& Sarah) into the world.
The kids loved the bird show.
Sarah was fascinated by all the animals and kept asking for "more." She especially loved the Lorikeets.

Bennett loved opening presents. He had a great time playing with his new remote control car from his grandparents.
He requested a chocolate peanut butter birthday cake.
Jackson made this pillow for Bennett at Cub Scout Camp.
The following Saturday we had a Friess family birthday party celebrating three August birthdays - Myah (5), Bennett (4) and Caden (3). The kids broke a pinata and opened presents. They all love playing together!
Bennett, the clone trooper, with his new glowing light saber. What a happy kid!
Bailey the Builder.
Addie
Birthday girl, Myah.
I got a belated birthday present as well. Danielle drew these beautiful pictures of Bennett and Sarah to go with one of Jackson that she did when he was their age. So precious! What amazing talent!
Wendy made this fabulous birthday cake - half pirates, half rainbows. Perfect!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Bennett!

Bennett Christian McKercher Friess turned the ripe old age of four on Saturday. He was so excited to have a birthday. He was thrilled when he got a glowing lightsaber from his parents and a cool remote control car from his grandparents. We had a fancy waffle breakfast and then spent much of the day at the zoo. We had pizza for dinner with a peanut butter chocolate cake for dessert.

We love having Bennett in our family. He is a ball of energy! He is always doing karate & jedi moves, running, jumping, bouncing, wrestling, moving. He loves to help Mom with jobs around the house, especially dusting. He is the world's greatest mixer in the kitchen. He loves to read books and is quickly learning his letters. He is a great cuddler and give super hugs. He adores his brother and sister, and is VERY excited for his new baby brother to come. Bennett says long, elaborate prayers where he lists everything he is grateful for, including his "new"house (where we have lived for over a year), his "new" bed (passed on from Jackson a year ago), his "new" clothes (hand-me-downs), and his new preschool (which he will start in the fall). Bennett is a joy to have around and we love him very much!

Happy 15th Anniversary!

Mark and I have been married for 15 wonderful years! I feel so blessed to have such an incredible partner. He is my best friend, and I grow to love him even more every day.

This photo was taken our freshman year at BYU before Mark left on his mission. This fall we will have been together as a couple longer than we were alive before we met. I am grateful to have spent so much of my life with this wonderful man. I love you, Mark!

Sarah Jane

Sarah is just over 17 months old and I wanted to record a little about her for posterity. Her vocabulary seems to be growing every day. Some of her words so far:

Mama

Daddy

Sarah

More

Baby (She LOVES babies!)

No

Elmo (She is enamored with him, just like Jackson was at this age.)

Cracker

Bowl

Cheese

Uh-oh

"Pop-pop" = popsicle or popcorn

Foot = shoe

Kitty

Ball

Egg

Hi

Bye

Hot

Cold

Cookie

Very specific grunt that means "yes"

Animal sounds -

Baa

Moo

Woof

Quack

Roar

Grrrrr

When she's not saying real words, she talks in her jabber language quite constantly. She can point to her eyes, hair, mouth, teeth, tongue, toes, feet, fingers, hands, tummy, belly button, nose, etc. She has climbed up the stairs for a long time, but has just started going down on her own this week. She loves music and loves to dance any time she hears some. She is still quite unstable and falls down multiple times a day. As a result she usually has a large bruise or bump on her forehead somewhere. (In fact, as I type, she ran full speed into the table edge with her head.) She is very opinionated already, but she is also very quick to smile and laugh and give loves. She is into everything and always busy. She LOVES the dirt and finds any excuse to be outside digging in it, putting it in her mouth, smearing it everywhere. Her happy disposition is a pure delight and she makes us all smile every day.

Her brothers ADORE her and love on her constantly. A couple weeks ago, we left them with a babysitter. Jackson volunteered to put Sarah to bed while the babysitter put Bennett to bed. Jackson rocked her and sang to her until she fell asleep. But when he put her down, she woke up and started to cry. So he picked her up and started again. He said he did it again and again for over an hour, until finally he decided to crawl into the crib with her. When she finally fell asleep, he quietly climbed out of the crib and left the room. What a sweet big brother.

Pirate Rock Concert

Tonight we spent a pleasant evening listening to Captain Bogg & Salty, pirate rock band for kids, at the Beaverton City Park. Bennett & Sarah were rocking out to the music.

Unwanted Excitement

Last Thursday I tweaked something in my back while picking up the hefty Miss Sarah Jane (who weighs all of 20 lbs!). I took it easy all day so as not to do any more damage. But that night I started having regular contractions -- every 5-10 minutes -- that would not stop. Not what we are looking for at 32 weeks! So we called the doctor about 11 pm who told us to go to the hospital and get it checked out. They monitored me for a while and then gave me a shot to stop the contractions. Luckily, there were no cervical changes (no dilation). They did some sort of protein test that came back negative, indicating a high likelihood that birth was not imminent. Yea! So they sent me home.

Friday my back hurt worse, but no contractions. Saturday my back was starting to feel a little better but I got regular contractions again that night. Mark gave me a priesthood blessing, I chugged about a gallon of water, and tried to sleep. Luckily they eventually stopped on their own. Since then I have thankfully not had any sustained regular contractions -- and I'm hoping it stays that way. I've been to the physical therapist and gotten stretches for my back. And I go see the OB in the morning to see how worried we should actually be. I'm hoping that it is all no big deal and I just have to worry about getting my back healthy before going into labor IN SEPTEMBER, not August.

Thankfully Mark's mom came for the weekend and my mom has come to spend a few days with us this week. So I'm able to take it easy a little bit and not lift the kids, etc. (Plus the kids think it is fabulous to have extra time with grandparents!) We're hoping we are done with the excitement for a while. We are anxious to have our little guy join the family -- but just not yet!