EaSTeR!

We had a fun Easter this year. Stake Conference was in the morning followed by naps and a fun dinner with friends. Every year sometime during the week before Easter we watch "The Lamb of God," and also go through our set of "Resurrection Eggs" - this year was no different and the kids still hated seeing the part of the film where the Savior is put on the cross, but I think it helps them remember that it was real and He did it for them.
We also did a little easter egg hunt and I captured a few pictures on film. Dallin and Tyler really got into it! I love these little people.

My 9 Year Old Baby....What?

4/18/11 - Hunter turned 9 years old! We started our day off at the dentist to get some flouride put on his teeth - they let him wear the birthday hat and sang to him. We made it home before he had to catch the bus for school and he opened presents too!
His gifts consisted of fishing equipment, a Colts Cap & Jersey, a BSU Broncos cap, a CD Player ( he loves listening to the dramatized Old Testament cd's - as did I growing up), some $, beef jerky, a digital watch that glows and is waterproof!, and new scout gear for being a Bear now!





We had a super cute cake for him - but Dallin found it and tried it out
before we got to eat it....so I put some soccer stuff on top to try to hide the fact that his named had been mawled by his 2 year old brother. He came home from school and we had pizza (his request) and fancy rootbeer! He wasn't feeling well so, we didn't do cake until Tuesday afternoon. He came home from school early b/c he had thrown up. :( poor kid.



All in all- I think he had a good day! He's sure a cutie! Here are a few things about Hunter @9:

*He loves to play soccer
*He loves to play football in the front yard with his friends
*If he could live in the water, he would - he loves to swim
*He loves to snuggle with his dad (sometimes me too, but mostly Travis)
*He could watch football with Travis all day
*He is kind to everyone and everyone loves him
*He gets 100% on almost every spelling test
*He does a great job on his chores (when he decides to do them)
*He likes to be the reader when we have family scriptures every night
*He has great manners
*He loves to play- it's his #1 thing to do as soon as he's home from anything (school, practice,etc.)
*He's just a really good boy!

Best Party eVeR!

I despise birthday parties mostly because I hate to find ways to entertain the guests. So, this year I told Hunter (his birthday is Monday) that he could invite 3 friends and we could go swimming at the hot springs. So we did, we swam, had dinner, cupcakes, and opened presents. I didn't have to do anything! It was lovely I tell you - lovely. They had a blast. I got a few pictures before the camera battery died.

From left to right we have: Josh, Carson, Hunter, & Shane.

They debuted a "diving thing" like dominos they took a turn right after the other. I posted a video of it at the bottom.

I LOVE this picture of Gwendalin! Her face is so darling!

To The Zoo!

Gwendalin's class went to the zoo yesterday. She begged and begged me to go with her. The problem with me going on field trips is that I have to find places for the little boys to go so that I can be with the fieldtripper. I worked it all out and I got to go spend the day with her at the zoo. It was fun - she got to touch a snake, hold a stick bug, and feel a hedgehog. I would do all of those things - except for hold the stick bug! I hate bugs. I'm glad I got it worked out and got to spend some time with her!

Another year!

This year my birthday came at the height of some serious stress! I tried so hard to enjoy the day, but my emotions got the better of me and combined with not sleeping well and a month of just being sick and not getting well...it ended up being a pretty rotten day. By the evening, my eyes hurt so bad Travis had me get a babysitter and we just went for a drive to get out of the house. We were only gone for an hour, but can I just say it was nice to have the serenity. My kids each hugged me for a gift and drew me pictures (I love thier pictures). I should've been more upbeat about it...but I'll do better next year and hopefully I won't be so overwhelmed. I honestly think it's 3 years of major stress and my body can't get well - and I just can't seem to make it go away. I finally changed my prayers from specific help from the Lord to just asking Him to bless us as He sees fit. I sent my mom a text that night (not wanting to talk for fear of a serious emotional breakdown) and asked her what the warning signs were when she had her nervous breakdown...I have never felt this horrible and had no idea how to cope. Luckily, somehow I do and maybe even get stronger from it?


On a happier note - I would like to list 32 things that I've learned (I'm copying my sister, Queen) this last year:
1. Life does not work out as you plan
2. Good friends are hard to come by
3. My husband can make anything seem better
4. My kids light up my world
5. Obsessing over my weight is a waste of time
6. I don't like watching TV very much anymore - it tends to really agitate me
7. I like having a cell phone that can access the internet.
8. Sending the same birthday card back and forth for years between me and my best friend always makes me smile.
9. The Lord is in control, and takes care of me
10. I need to learn how to loosen up some more
11. Cleaning is theraputic
12. I look forward to date night
13. I love snuggling my kiddies
14. Time goes by far too quickly
15.I am blessed to have good health
16. I love getting new family pictures every year
17. I need to take more pictures with Travis
18. I don't like teaching piano lessons
19. I try to love to make dinner, but I still don't love it
20. Pulling weeds and doing yard work (in nice weather) calms me
21. If I look for ways to serve others I find them
22. I am getting better on a daily basis at recognizing the spirit during my day
23. I am stronger than I thought I was
24. I like to blog what happens in our family and bind it in a book each year
25. I really enjoy working in primary (I am currently the secretary)
26. I know new clothes don't make a person feel better, but I would really love a good pair of jeans.
27. I watch my kids and realize I must be doing something right - they are amazing....
28. Even if I'm tired, it doesn't mean I will be able to sleep
29. Travis is my rock
30. I hope my kids feel safe when I hold them, like I did with my parents
31. I don't like being far away from extended family - I wish they all lived in my neighborhood
32. Life goes on, regardless of our attitude so we should try to be happy and enjoy it

Ahhh....sleep

The other day I had to run errands in the afternoon and both little boys ended up having naps in the car. I don't know how Tyler could sleep the way he was, but he did. This was after a trip in the grocery store where he saw a twin pack of "5 Hour Energy" and told me we needed it. I assured him we did not and his response was "But mom, it starts your day off right..."I asked him how he knew that, if it was from the TV and he told me no, and then I asked where he heard it then....his reply "It was on our TV." He looked at me like I was foreign and gave me the "Duh" look. He's such a sweet boy! Dallin plays SO HARD every day (he's really into EVERYTHING!) that night comes and once he quits fighting going to bed he crashes....

If Travis and I could sleep like our kids we might feel physically and emotionally better...but we don't. I don't think you really ever sleep good again after you've had children. That's just my experience. I used to sleep so hard - now if the fan moves the wrong way I am wide awake. I almost blogged the other night at 3am - just because I could not sleep. Oh well...these little boys are sure cute in their dreamlands!

A Spring Break GetAway!

We took a quick trip down to Utah for the last part of spring break (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday). We got a hotel and it had an indoor pool...any parent knows that swimming at the hotel pool is usually the BEST part of any vacation for the kids - we could've stayed in Boise and got a room and they would've loved it! Our room had a fully stocked kitchen, which was great because we could eat everything in house . We weren't quite that good, but we did pretty good - what's a vacation without a few fast food stops? On Friday, after we got there we settled in for a minute and then went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. It was super fun...they had bat rays (they look similar to sting rays) that you could feel, shrimp that had to be behind bullet proof glass because they punch so hard they could break regular glass, and all kinds of other very cool sea / water life. My personal favorite were the teeney tiny sea horses - they were probably the size of 1/2 of a dime. They were very cool to look at. The kids enjoyed this very much! On Saturday I went for a quick visit to my grandparents in Orem. I try to do that if I'm anywhere in the vicinity. Anyway, after I got back we went up to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake. It was fun and the kids loved watching the gorilla eat rolls and rolls of paper. We had a heck of a time keeping the Texas by us - he would look at something and he was off to see the next thing (he did the same thing at the Aquarium) he loved every minute. The water at the pool was too deep for the little boys, so they hung out on the stairs most of the time...and for the most part they got along. Hunter and Gwennie had jumping contests and just loved being in the water. They were sure wiped out by the time we hit night #2.