The Whitaker Family: August 2010

Farewell to Nicole's Blankie

On August 16th, 2010 I went to the hospital to get a glucose test done and a Rhogam shot. I parked in the main parking lot and walked in by the gift shop, only to discover that the lab had been moved to a new building, Outpatient Services. To get there, I had to walk through the main building, out the doors, and through two parking lots under a garage, and the building was next to the garage. So there I was, holding Nicole in my arms (mind you I'm also pregnant and Nicole refused to walk) with three dolls in Nicole's arms, holding my diaper bag, Nicole's blankie and holding Alyssa's hand in the parking lots. I draped Nicole's blankie over the diaper bag and made the tiring haul to the lab. During my 2 hour wait at the lab I suddenly noticed that Nicole's blankie was gone and couldn't see it anywhere in the waiting room. When I finished at the lab we walked back the way we came and to the car and Nicole's blankie was nowhere. I asked the lab, the main Lost and Founds, and an individual at the customer service desk in the main building if anyone had turned in her blankie and to my dismay no one turned it in. Since then, I've called a couple times to Lost and Founds, gave them my information, and no one turned in her blankie. Nicole was devastated, especially the first day and refused to take a nap without it. That night I found some other baby blankets. Nicole seemed to like one that is pink with brown polka dots, has ribbon on the edges, and is extremely soft. She has been sleeping it with it since the 16th and has done just fine without her blanky, but I on the other hand, I'm still upset about her missing blankie. I bought her blankie with the hopes that it would be her favorite and it was! She has carried her blankie with us everywhere we went and it was a chore to get it away from her to wash it. She loved to take the edges and pull it up to her nose to comfort her and it acted like a binky and made her stop crying when we gave her it to her. I always hoped that I could someday have it in her memory box, along with other fun treasures; such as: her first binky, her first baby bracelet, etc. My only solace in the fact that someone may have actually taken her blankie is that the person who took it must have REALLY needed it. Who else would steal a used blankie, but someone who is in desperate need of one, so I can tell Nicole when she is older that she helped someone in need. Given Nicole's sweet personality, she will be happy to know that another child is enjoying her beloved blankie who needed it more than she did. Farewell, blankie. We'll miss you!

Grandma Hacking

My Grandma Hacking, also known as Grandma Mazie to my kids, passed away on August 19th. She died peacefully in her sleep at 95 years old and was a remarkable individual, who stayed active by golfing almost her whole life and constantly reading books. She even golfed on her 94th birthday! It is comforting to know that Grandma is with my Grandpa, who passed away on December 24, 1999 and their two kids, Lani and Paul. Some of my fondest memories of my Grandma is her homemade peach ice cream, Christmas morning breakfast and bingo, swimming at Riverside Country Club, and Grandma teaching me how to skip. Love you, Grandma, and look forward to seeing you again!

Thanksgiving Point Farm

Recently, we went to the Thanksgiving Point Farm with some neighbors and had a blast!

At the end of the table is my dear friend and visiting teacher, Kristina Woodbury, who is my angel. She is one of the kindest, most charitable individuals I know.

California Vacation!

On July 31-August 8th, we took our family vacation to California and had the best time! We stayed with friends, Hyrum and Becky, with their cute kids for most of the trip and then with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Brandon and Diana, for a couple nights. We went to Disneyland twice, to the beach, swimming in Hyrum and Becky's backyard, to the L.A. Zoo, and to a place like Kangaroo Zoo. The rest of the time was spent visiting and eating lots of yummy food together! :)

Family with a Toy Story soldier

Nicole had a hard time choosing a suvenir!

We went to a Colors Show at night, which was amazing!

Tigger!

Eeyore!

Snow White!

Aurora!

Ariel!

Belle- Nicole tried to take her with us!

Tiana!

Brandon and Diana w/ Alyssa

L.A. Zoo, which has tons of hills and gave me small contractions walking all day up them! Also, it was extremely hot so we don't have a lot of animal pictures because most of them were sleeping in the shade :)

Jungle place like Kangaroo Zoo (can't remember the name)

Will, Alyssa, and Dewey

How could Nicole cry on a toy that looks like Nemo?!

Baby Tyler and I at the beach :)

Other people built this ship and left it, which brought great happiness to our kids

Hyrum and Becky's cute daughter, Ellie!

Alyssa and I having fun with the waves

Nicole HATES the beach! She hated the sand and got sunscreen in her eyes! She wouldn't stop crying, so Will and I took turns with her in the van almost the whole time at the beach while she calmed down to the movie, "The Little Mermaid."