William lost a tooth

This is one excited kid! William lost his very first tooth this evening! It took him a few apples, some serious wiggling and a little prying from Taylor but it's out. He was so nervous but once it was done he was bouncing off the walls. Hopefully the toothfairy makes it all worth it!

Our First Pinewood Derby

Taylor will be turning 8 on Sunday and that means Cub scouts! Our Cub master invited Taylor and Zack to participate in the Pinewood Derby. There wasn't much time for creating since we have been traveling so much but they got them done just in the nick-of-time. Taylor created a BYU car and Zack made his a University of Utah car. They both had fun creating their cars and then racing them. Now Taylor is really excited about joining Cub scouts. It will be a new adventure for all of us!

Best Friends Forever

Katie's best friend since we moved into our neighborhood Ilea just moved to Lehi. Both girls were quite upset having to be separated. Since we were up in Salt Lake we decided to surprise Katelyn and make a stop over to their house. Our visit was unannounced but both girls just beamed being able to see each other and Ilea's family was rather pleased to see us. We have been so blessed with great neighbors and lots of children our kids' ages. Several families in the neighborhood have girls Katelyn's age and then boys Taylor and William's ages. It is great letting them play in groups together. I still can remember some of my friends when I was 10. We moved around a lot when I was growing up which was hard but I had the chance to meet lots of great people along the way. I am thankful that my kids have been able to get to know lots of great people too. We are sad when friends move away but it gives us a chance to grow too. I hope Katelyn will be able to keep in contact with her friends as they move away, I know I've been able to make contact with lots of my friends from the past and enjoy them in my life.

Easter 2011

While we were staying at Grandma Benson's house for Jed's graduation, Zack's cousin Julie invited us to do an Easter Egg hunt Saturday morning. There was lots of candy and kids galore! We were able to visit with lots more family after which was great. When we lived in Salt Lake we saw lots of Zack's family all the time but now when we come visit it is a hit or miss depending on when we're up north. We are thankful for families. Zack's Grandma Benson has always welcomed us to her home with open arms. We really appreciate her willingness to take us in. I know Krystal always thought of Grandma Benson's home as her home. It made me feel a little bit closer to her just being there.

We got home late Saturday night and by Sunday morning we all felt the strain of so much traveling. It took us quite awhile to even discover what the Easter Bunny had left for the kids and still Matthew was having a meltdown by then. The kids all got a Beanie Baby and a chocolate bunny, not very extravagant but still nice. It has been nice to visit with so much family the past several weeks but we all appreciate being home. Life will never be quite the same but being home just makes things feel a little better. I am so thankful for the atonement and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ. This Easter took on a little more meaning, I had a miscarriage back in October and we lost Krystal in April. I know that this life is just part of our journey. We'll return back to Heavenly Father and those who have past before us. Jesus Christ loves us enough to make sure we have been given that blessing. I want to live worthy of it!

Jed's BYU Graduation

We traveled back up north early Friday morning to attend Jed's graduation. He graduated with his bachelor's in mechanical engineering just like Charles did the year before. It was a big graduation for the engineering department, there were 500 graduates! The speeches alone took over an hour. Zack apologized to anyone who went to his graduation afterwards saying they're just too long. We are very proud of Jed and all his hard work! Aubrey has been a great support for him. I was there not too long ago and remember how much you sacrifice to support your husband through schooling. Jed's taking a break this next year from school and applying MIT the fall 2012. That should be fun for them!

Aubrey put on a party to celebrate Jed's graduation over at their house. There was lots of food, games and visiting. The adults really got into a four-square game, it started out for the kids but quickly became an adult game with way too many rules and no mercy! Aubrey kept the kids busy with a pinata filled with candy and some bean bag tosses. It was lots of fun and a nice break from all the sadness of the last couple weeks.

Krystal Alvey Egbert

On March 6, 1983 a star from heaven came to earth. Krystal "star" Alvey was born, a beautiful baby girl, perfect in every way. Krystal was a loving baby who loved to snuggle and play. She was independent from the very beginning and always did things in her own friendly, loving way. She spent her time collecting friends and making them feel like family.

Her long brown hair was almost as pretty as her contagious smile. She loved her hair and wanted it to be as long as Crystal Gale's hair. Her Aunt Cheryl was combing her hair one day and told Krystal she was gorgeous. Krystal threw back her hair like a movie star and said "I dorgeous!" She was our only "dorgeous" girl.

Growing up little Krystal could be found following her older brother and sister riding a big wheel and wearing her favorite purple dress and leading her younger brothers on creative adventures while living in blanket forts.

Krystal was the middle child of 5 and some days she didn't know how she fit in our family. She always did things her own way and sometimes backwards for fun. She would dress up in nice warm clothes in the summer and shorts and t-shirts in the winter. She was the only one in our house who didn't like spaghetti, which I never understood. She came up with a fun game to help us understand where she came from by telling everyone she was from Mars. She even drew herself as a martian for a school assignment and her teacher commented "Krystal, you are my favorite martian." Krystal was always my favorite martian too.

Krystal loved all her family - aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins. Krystal loved all her cousins and spent lots of time with Faith E. and all the girls at the Crosby house. She was heartbroken when her Grandpa B and Grandma A died and she always kept a special place in her heart for them. She was always the best resource for knowing what was going on in anyone's life in our family. Krystal kept close track of all our cousins.

She loved her younger brothers and loved helping them get into mischief. She had a way of convincing her brothers to do what she wanted. She would dress them up in her dresses and she would get them to carry her bag home from school.

As she got older she became close friends with Charles and Jedediah - walking home from school, sharing friends, wearing their clothes, and keeping track of all the girls the boys were dating. The three of them took German in Jr High so they could talk to each other in a funny language, though it was harder than they thought.

She loved her older brother and sister very much. She looked up to them and always wanted to do everything they did. She shared everything with her sister Shenille, they were roommates and shared clothes, toys and friends. Krystal loved to boss Shenille around and their was a phrase that was heard more than once, that was a quote from a silly TV show about dinosaurs, "Not the Mama." As the girls got older, Krystal got jobs at Hogi Yogi and the pet groomers to try to be like her big sister. She followed her to Dixie College to be like her big sister too.

She adored her intelligent, humble, wonderful, smart, funny, handsome, big brother Zack. She always wanted to play with the boys. She would always humor him and laugh at his jokes and tease him about his school crushes. I would sometimes frustrate her with my teasing and if I really got under her skin she would suck in cheeks and pucker her lips and I would run for my life. Her journals showed that she really missed me when I left for my mission and got married. She took my wife, Alisha, under her wing as a sister and I have been flattered and proud to be Krystal's big brother as she tried to model her life after me and my family. I love her so much and I was not done being her big brother.

In Jr High and High school Krystal was crazy about boys. She was always talking about all the cute boys she had crushes on. She would talk with her little brothers about boys, she talk to her cousins about boys, she would talk to her best friend Stephanie about boys, and it was fun reading in her journal about all the boys she liked to hang out with. She chose Auto shop over Home Ec in High school because she knew that is where she would find the boys. She always knew where to find the boys. When she went off to college in Dixie she found one sitting in the boys dorms watching football waiting for her to come along.

Ryan and Krystal fell in love and were married in March 2003 for time and all eternity in the Bountiful temple. Ryan and Krystal were a perfect match and they brought three little angels into the world. Krystal finally got to be the mama.

Throughout her life Krystal saw the world differently than most people. She was much more interested in people and relationships and friends than she was in things, rewards and possessions. She made friends everywhere she went and always treated her friends like they were family. She was always sweet and kind and just wanted to play and have fun. She was a loving mother who tried hard to please her babies. She genuinely made you feel like she cared. She took notice of the little things and was full of compliments. Krystal loved all of her family and wanted to be loved unconditionally.

Krystal loved her Grandma Alvey and it was very hard on her to see her go. In High school Krystal kept a journal and on each page it started, "Dear Sharon." I would like to add one more short entry.

Dear Sharon,

Our precious Krystal Star is on her way to Heaven to see you. Please let her know that we love her and we are so thankful that we could have her in our family and give her a big hug. We miss our Krystal Star.

Love,
Zack

Katelyn turns 10 years old!

Katelyn was very spoiled for her birthday. Grandma Benson asked if we would throw her a party up in Salt Lake since it was so close to her birthday. Saturday afternoon we threw a party for her. Sam and Lindsey brought her over to their house on Friday night and let her sleep over. The girls giggled and played until 3 am. Then Aunt Sid and Uncle Mark spoiled all the kids before the birthday party when they took them over to watch Rio, a bird movie, and then off to McDonald's for lunch and playtime. Lots of family came over to Grandma Benson's home for the party. She was showered with lots of presents and attention. My parents were kind enough to bring the cake and ice cream since they were in town for Krystal's funeral and a homecoming on Sunday. My mom picked out a cake that had blue and orange flowers which seemed to be a bit of a tribute to Krystal since she was attending Boise State University when she passed away. I think Ryan would have enjoyed the cake but he was spending some time with his side of the family on Saturday.

Monday night my family came over to our house and threw Katie another birthday party! It was pretty low key but she was showered with presents and cake and loved every minute of it. Since everything happened right before Katie's birthday, I wasn't quite in the mood but wanted to make sure she knew how important she is to us. I felt bad not making her cake but she picked out a great ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and got everything she asked for. Everyone seemed to pick up the slack for me and made sure things happened the right way. I sure appreciated that! We love all of our children and realize even more how important every minute counts. I hope that I can be a better mom to my kids and make sure that they know I love them.

The phone call...

Life has really changed since I received the devastating phone call Friday morning from Kathy, Zack's mom, that Krystal passed away. She just didn't wake up in the morning. Aliyah went to wake her up but couldn't and then woke Ryan up to tell him. He tried but nothing happened. Ryan called 9-1-1 and the rest is history. Our sweet Krystal passed away sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning. She leaves behind her husband Ryan and three sweet little girls - Aliyah 7, Rylee 5 and Lizzie 3. I had to call Zack at the school to let him know. He actually dropped the phone when I told him. Within about 10 minutes of our phone conversation he was home sobbing in my arms. He called his parents and other siblings. Saturday morning we headed up to Boise, Idaho to be with Ryan and his girls. The drive was miserable, it snowed and rained pretty much the whole drive there. We stopped in Filmore for a potty break and a snowball fight. The kids hated being in the car as much as I did. It took us 13 hours to reach Boise at about 10 pm, we stayed in a hotel the first night. That was provided by my parents, we are so grateful for that. The kids were completely restless and got to let lots of energy out before crashing around 1am. Sunday morning we traveled over to my brother Brian's home and ate breakfast and visited for a little bit. We then headed over to meet up with Ryan. He wasn't home but talking with the bishop over at his ward building. We headed over to the church shortly after to meet up with him. He waited at the entrance for us. Zack and I both gave him huge hugs and told him how sorry we were. Lots of tears were shed. After sacrament meeting we headed back to Ryan's for lunch and then over to his cousin's home to see the girls. They all seemed happy to see us. Aliyah is really having a hard time and seems to be a little bit more reserved than the other two. After visiting with the girls and Ryan's family for a bit, we left. Aliyah really struggled with Ryan leaving so he stayed back for a bit longer to comfort her. I couldn't imagine what this little seven year old must be feeling. Ryan later said that Rylee was having nightmares and Lizzie was really clingy to him. My heart breaks for them.

We spent most of Monday waiting over at Brian and Kelsey's home for the coroner to release Krystal's body. They did an autopsy and found that she had an enlarged heart. All signs pointed to the fact that she had completed her mission here on earth and it was her time to return to her maker. She died peacefully in her sleep without any suffering. That is the best you can ask for, a little more time with her would have been nice but the Lord has His reasons. Maybe someday we'll know why but for now it just hurts. I am grateful that we know that families are eternal. One day we will be able to see Krystal again, she'll be waiting for us. Ryan will be able to hold her again and she will be able to hug her girls.

The rest of the week was super busy with taking care of her body, ordering the flowers, funeral arrangements and lots of traveling. Ryan asked Zack to speak at Krystal's funeral, he did her life sketch. A wonderful tribute to Krystal and all she has done here on earth. There ended up being two funeral services one in Twin Falls, Idaho and a second in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was buried in the Holladay cemetery right next to her Grandma Sharon whom she loved and missed very much. The final goodbyes were very hard. We are so sad about the loss of our Krystal. We are very thankful for the understanding that we will be reunited with our family members when we pass from this mortal existence. The hard part is the time we remain on this earth without those who have gone before us. I imagine Krystal is very happy, she is with her family that has passed on before her. I imagine she is looking over her husband and girls. She has fulfilled her time here on the earth. I am grateful for the chance I had to know her. I just wish it would have been so much longer. She will forever hold a special place in our hearts. I cherish her friendship.