Keeper of the Plains

Instead of doing what we normally do on Saturdays (go to the zoo), we decided to expand our horizons and explore a piece of downtown Wichita - the Keeper of the Plains statute.

The 44-foot tall steel statue is described this way:

The Keeper of the Plains stands at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers with hands raised in supplication to the Great Spirit. Since the sculpture's installation in 1974 to commemorate the United States Bicentennial, it has become a symbol for the city of Wichita and a tribute to the Native American tribes who continue to gather at this sacred site.

(source here)

We've seen many depictions of the statue in different parts of the city, as well as in the word "Wichita" itself in magazines, pamphlets, and posters. It really does seem to be Wichita's trademark/symbol.

Mid-morning, we loaded up the kids and found a parking spot by the Cowtown Museum. That's another one on our list. We didn't realize that the Women's March was going on in that area, but we found a way around the crowd and walked along the river to the monument.

 

Once there we found a couple of walls with descriptions of the Plains Indians' way of life. It described the weapons they used, the sacredness of eagles, why pipes are used and who used them, the women's role in the tribe, the symbolism of tipis, the importance of horses and buffalo, and so on. After we read about the Plains Indians, we walked down a short, winding path to the actual statue.

It was pretty cool to see it so close up. At night, the city of Wichita hosts what they call "Ring of Fire," where they light fire pots surrounding the Keeper of the Plains for 15 minutes. We haven't been to that yet, but we hope to see that long-standing tradition another day.

It was great being outside and walking around as a family, especially when all I needed was a light jacket to stay warm. :) I'm excited to keep exploring the city of Wichita and learning more about its history.

Are You Making Fun of Me?

The other day I wasn't feeling very well. Luckily it was on a Saturday, so Jayze was able to help out throughout the day. In the evening, when I had finally ventured out of the warm, comfy (but confining) bed and was sitting on the couch holding Kimball on my lap, Jayze and I discussed dinner options. After a few ideas were tossed here and there, we decided on Navajo Tacos.

As Jayze walked to the kitchen to start making them he asked me, "Do you remember when we made fry bread from biscuits?"

I cocked my head, trying realllllllly hard to recall. Did we ever do that in Rexburg? I said out loud, "Mmmmm, nope, I actually don't remember that. It doesn't sound familiar at all. But let's not do that tonight though, because that sounds gross."

He shrugged, looked a little confused, and said, "Really, you don't remember that at all? Okay, no worries. I'll do it the old fashioned way."

While Jayze took care of making dinner, I watched the kids. He got everything on the table and Aidan and Jayze started eating while I fed Kimball a bottle. Once Kimball was done, I set him down on the floor to play with a toy and then I started eating. It was quiet for a little bit, and then a thought occurred to me.

I poked my fork into a piece of fry bread topped with tomatoes, beans, spinach, etc, and asked Jayze, "Remember when we made fry bread from biscuits?"

Silence.

Then, "Are you making fun of me?"

Surprised, I looked up to see Jayze staring at me, and I asked, "What?"

Jayze said again, "Are you making fun of me?"

I said, super confused, "Nooooo...I was just wondering...remember when you made fry bread out of the canned biscuits at the hotel? That was really good!"

He said, "I just barely asked you that!"

I tried to remember him asking me that during our previous dinner discussion. Nothing. Nada.

I said, "You did?"

Exasperated, he said, "When we made the decision to make Navajo Tacos, I asked you if you remembered when we made fry bread from biscuits."

............................................

It dawned on me.

"Oh."

Whoops.

Me again, "Well, I thought you were talking about homemade biscuits...not the canned kind. And I couldn't remember doing that at all in Rexburg. I seriously didn't remember! I'm not making fun of you! I'm sorry...."

We both sat there for a second and then we both busted up laughing at the same time.

I think I'm losing my mind.

This Morning

Sometimes - not very often - Aidan wakes up crying and screaming. But when we go in to comfort him, he is still mostly out of it and goes right back to sleep after we rub his back or head a few times, offer words of comfort, and drape his blanket around him again. It seems an unspoken rule that Jayze usually gets up to comfort Aidan since I usually get up with Kimball. So, when Aidan woke up screaming around 4:00, this morning, I thought things would turn out the way they normally do.

I rolled over and woke up Jayze, "Aidan's screaming really hard. I don't know what's wrong." Jayze took a minute to rouse himself and then groggily got out of bed to comfort Aidan. By that time Kimball needed comforting too. Jayze went in their room, consoled both of them, and came back to bed. A few minutes later, Kimball started crying again, so it was my turn to groggily get up, grab a bottle, and feed Kimball.

As I was feeding Kimball, Aidan kept sitting up in bed, laying back in bed, giggling off and on, whining off and on, and dozing. I kept telling him to, "Shhhh, go to bed. It's still bedtime." By the time Kimball was done eating, Aidan had finally relaxed into a comfortable position and had quieted down. As I kissed his forehead and said goodbye, I thought for sure he was going to go back to sleep.

No more than a couple minutes after I had crawled back into bed, I heard Aidan open his door, then I heard his little hand turn the doorknob and and our bedroom door swung open. Most of the time he goes to Jayze's side of the bed because it's closer to the door, but this time he quietly padded over to my side.

I whispered, "Hi, Aidan."
He said, "Up?"
I asked him, "Do you want to come sleep with us?"
He thought for a moment, smiled, and then said, "Eus!" (Yes)

I told him to climb on up. He started to, and then I grabbed him under his arms and pulled him the rest of the way up. Jayze said, "But you have to sleep," because whenever he wants to come into bed with us, it's to play.

I laid him down next to me, covered him with the blanket, told him to go to sleep, and then I dozed off. He took a little bit to actually fall asleep, but when I half woke up awhile later, I could hear his little snore. There we were: Jayze, me squashed in the middle, and Aidan.

My non-snuggler didn't want me too far. Every time I tried to move, he would come closer. His head knocked against mine and then stayed there, and his foot wedged between my knees.

It was the cutest thing.

Later, Jayze got up to get ready for work, and I stayed in bed for another half hour to snuggle with my toddler. Right before I got up, Aidan shifted and put his hand on my arm. Of course I had to stay there at least another five minutes. :) It wasn't until I heard Kimball crying in the other room that I finally climbed out of bed and softly shut the bedroom door, leaving Aidan to snooze away.

He slept for another hour and came out of the room somewhat confused, but super happy. And even though I hope this doesn't become a habit, this morning it was the best thing ever.

2016 Moments

These are our highlights from 2016:

January:

• Jayze started his LAST semester of his undergrad. (Sorry, no last/first day of school picture, hon!)

February:

• Had the "a-ha" moment to do all of my laundry in one day. Seriously, it's changed my life. 

Oh my gosh, he looks so little here. (insert crying emoji here)

March:

• Aidan's first day of nursery (the same day as Easter!), and Jayze completed a mud run.
• Hit 30 weeks along with baby #3.

• I finished reading the Book of Mormon cover-to-cover. I know it's true with all my heart!!!

April: 

• Jayze graduated with his bachelor's from Brigham Young University-Idaho. HUGE milestone.
• First time to a zoo as a family (Idaho Falls).

May:

• Gave birth to a healthy, breathing, beautiful baby boy whom we named Kimball McCleve Flake (+ 5 days in the NICU). 

• Officially accepted a job offer from Accretive Health, began packing and cleaning like crazy, and had Kimball's baby blessing. 

June:

• Put most of our stuff in storage and moved with just the essentials to Southfield, MI (suburb of Detroit). 

July:

• Continued our wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) adventure of living in a hotel.
• Made new friends, explored the area. 
• Celebrated the 4th of July at the Detroit Zoo and finished up the day with Jet's Pizza (I really do miss that pizza).

August:

• Celebrated four years of marriage.
• Jayze's and the kids' first time to Nauvoo.
• Relocated to Wichita, KS.
• Jayze's first day on the real job.
• Alma turned three. 

Nauvoo Temple 2016.

Jayze's first day of work - the same day as Alma's birthday.

September:

• Made my first batch of cookies in our new home! (It was nice having an oven again.)
• Jayze turned 26.
• Aidan turned 2 (!) and switched from his pack 'n play to a toddler bed.

October:

• Kimball's first Halloween. 
• First time to the Wichita Zoo.

November:

• Kimball turned 6 months old. 
• Kimball's first Thanksgiving.

December:

• I turned 25. 
• Kimball's first Christmas!
• Both Aidan and Kimball's first time sitting on Santa's lap (Aidan, "Planes, cars, trucks.")
• Christmas in Arizona. 
• Kimball's first visit to see Alma. 

Jayze made the cake, and it was de-licious.

Flake Family Christmas Letter 2016

We decided to send out Christmas letters this year. Since moving, we've distanced ourselves from a lot of family and good friends and have been homesick off and on. It's sometimes surreal that this is our family. The Jayze and Sarah Flake family. We established a home in Idaho, but since Jayze graduated, we've established homes in Michigan and Kansas as well. I guess home really is where your family is, and our family includes Alma, Aidan, and Kimball. So I guess a part of our home is still in Arizona. It always will since Alma's there.

Anyway, since I'm sure I missed a few people here and there in the Christmas hustle and bustle, here's our 2016 Christmas card/letter. 2016 was a good year for us - full of up and downs, lots of growth and change, and many beautiful memories sealed away to make room for more in 2017.

Dear Family and Friends,

This year has been a wild ride! We have completed another bachelor's degree, added another sweet baby to our family, survived two moves, been hired on to a new job, and celebrated four years of marriage. We are so thankful for the many, many friends and family members who helped us in all of those events (and more). We are also so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. Our faith and trust in Them have grown; They have truly led us step-by-step to where we are now.

Jayze: In April, Jayze graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with his bachelor's degree in Healthcare Administration and a minor in Accounting. A couple of months later, he officially got hired on as an Operations Lead at a company called Accretive Health. We put most of our things in storage and moved with just the essentials to Detroit, Michigan for a 10-week training program. There, we lived in a hotel until we got the word at the end of training that we would be relocated to Wichita, KS. Jayze now helps a hospital, Via Christi, with their revenue cycle. It's been a big learning curve, but he enjoys his job and is getting more familiar with his responsibilities.

He was also recently called as the Youth Sunday School teacher. Since there aren't very many youth in our ward, he teaches all of the youth, 12-18 years old. It's definitely different than what he's used to, but he loves teaching and learning from them. 

Sarah: Since graduating in April 2015, Sarah has had the wonderful opportunity to stay at home, first with just Aidan and now with him and Kimball. She learns from them every day, and each evening she loves telling stories of the cute things they did during the day to Jayze when he gets home from work. She also enjoys updating family and friends about our life through her blog.

She was recently called as the 1st Counselor in the Young Women Presidency. She is getting to know the girls better, and loves both serving them and serving with them. 

Alma: We finally put in Alma's headstone on January 1, 2016. It was a great way to start the new year. On August 29, we celebrated his third birthday. He teaches us every day to keep an eternal perspective and to serve others. We are so grateful for him. 

Aidan: Aidan turned two years old (!) on September 25. It was so cute watching him blow out his two birthday candles. He is constantly learning new words, and we're able to understand him better every day. He is obsessed with cars and trucks; is always ecstatic to go to the zoo, play outside, and attend nursery; and loves watching the trains when we drive by them (“choo-choo!”). He helps his mom out so much during the day and is a fun big brother to Kimball. 

Kimball: Kimball was born on May 10. He has already brought so much joy and love to our family. At seven months old, Kimball has already been to 10 states, lived in three of them, and has been on so many adventures with his family. He loves watching Aidan play, chewing on anything he can get his hands on (can you believe it? Eight teeth!), and is such a smiley, cuddly baby.  He has been a wonderful addition to our family.

We hope this letter finds all of you happy and well and that you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love, 

Jayze, Sarah, and the boys