When I see fast Sunday coming on the calendar I just want to crawl in a hole (with loads of food) and pretend I don't know the day is coming. How bad is that!?!? I totally know that fasting can result is so many miracles. I have seen it happen in my own life on more than one occassion... so why do I still have such a hard time with it?
Well, a few months ago I finally started to do my fasting the "right way." In the past (unless I really needed something) I would pretty much just starve myself all day. The result: grumpy, horrible headache, no energy and miserable to be around. Then I finally decided that maybe I can't do everything on my own. (I have a little bit of a control issue and hate to not be able to do it all on my own) It came around to fast Sunday and life was good and I couldn't really think about anything critical that I needed in my life so how was I going to make it all day fasting? I realized that I needed to fast for God's strength to help me make it through the day. WOW! I can't begin to tell you what a difference that made! The day wasn't exactly easy and I had to keep asking for help throughout the day but the strength and patience also kept coming as I asked for it. I really can't fully explain the experience. I definately came away with a sure knowledge that God is real, he is there for me and with his help I can do anything that is asked of me (even fasting all day)!
I wonder why it took me so long to learn this lesson... I am stubborn. I am working on being more humble and am embarrassed it has taken me so long to listen.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
My Goal Has Been Met!
I have been married for almost 10 years and for one reason or another couldn't seem to go snow skiing. We were either too poor, I was pregnant or had a newborn baby that couldn't be left that long to go... So this year was MY YEAR and gosh darn it... I wanted to go skiing AT LEAST once this year! The winter didn't start off looking so great time wise though. At the beginning of November I was called as the Primary President for our ward, Christmas came and we all know what that entails, we spent most of January with really sick kids so when February came I had planned to go skiing with Bryce for Valentine's Day!!! :) Well... about a week before Valentine's Day he went for a motorbike ride with his buddies and seriously hurt his knee. I knew that he was truly hurt when he decided to go to the doctor. He didn't do anything too extremely serious but couldn't really walk on it and was told not to do anything on his knee that would require it to be stressed in a sideways motion for several weeks... so no skiing. There went that trip! He got better just in time to go to his Rhino Rally Race in St. George and we had a fantastic family vacation. I had totally put all ideas of skiing out of my mind since it was now mid March and the flowers in my yard were finally starting to come up! (Yahoo!!!) Bryce surprised me with a phone call one day and set up a date with me to go skiing the following week. I had some crappy virus at the time and hoped that I could muster up the energy to even get in the car without wanting a nap, but we planned it. Then Bryce got the nasty virus! And an ear infection. And a sinus infection. He stayed home from work all week and layed in bed. I kept telling him that we could cancel the skiing trip but he insisted that we were going. Wednesday night came, he pulled himself out of bed and we had a blast! I looked and felt like a complete moron for the first little while! Some random guy had to come over and help me get my boot in my ski after he watched me struggle with it for a few minutes! (Bryce was gone looking for the bunny hill for me.) I never made it off anything but beginning runs but had such a fun time with Bryce! He was so patient with me while I had to relearn how to ski. I crashed several times but never into anyone else and never actually hit a tree. I did get close enough to smell the nice fresh pine scent though!
After it was all said and done, I have all my bones in working order, my muscles have now recovered and many people went home with some good laughs at me trying to make my way down the hill without dying! THANKS BRYCE FOR A FANTASTIC DATE!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Adventures from our Vacation!
We had a BLAST!!! Our kids were awesome, Bryce and I were both happy and it was so nice to have maid service, instant food and sunshine! We spent almost 10 days together and nobody was ready to come home.
We started off on Friday February 27th heading to St. George for Bryce's "Rhino Rally" desert dirt bike race. We spent the evening at the park, went out to eat at Wingers (the wait at the Olive Garden was WAY too long and the kids were really disappointed)and headed to bed cause we knew that we would have a long day ahead of us with Bryce's race.
Saturday morning we were up at the crack of dawn and Bryce had some pre-race jitters. We fed the kids and headed off to Washington, UT to the middle of no-where for the race. About a half an hour of driving on dirt roads and such we made it to the spot and off Bryce went with his buddy, Rich Black, to "check things out" while he ditched me and the kids with Rich's wife, Kaylyn, and her two kids. (Kaylyn is really nice and it all worked out well though but a bit awkward at first.) I wasn't too concern with what to do with the hours we had on our hands till the race began since there was endless dirt to play in and the kids LOVE to play in the dirt... but it didn't go so well. They hadn't been outside more than a few minutes when Abbey came in with a panic cause Landen and Braxton had both fallen in cactus. I had no idea that there were so many million little pokey quill type things on a cactus!!!
After forever of pulling them out of their clothes and skin... and a few in my hands from pulling them out... we were good. Abbey tried to stick her hand in a hole that was "already dug out of the ground" by a rock, I panicked, told her to never stick her hands in holes you didn't dig and stay away from them because we have no idea what is actually living in there!! (I am not a fan of snakes, scorpions or anything else!)
Finally around 1 pm Bryce's race began. It was 80 miles long with a crazy start! All of the riders line up and when the flag goes down they start their bikes and pray they don't get run over by somebody around them! I took a few pictures of Bryce's start:
Can't really see him well in this photo but there are so many bikes!
Bryce is in the middle of the photo. He has an orange KTM bike, brown riding gear on and a helmet with the yellow M on it.
He is ahead of the pack and a bit out of control as he hits rocks and such.
Notice the people standing in the middle of the way. They were the ones that had to hold the flag up for 1 minute to signal them to go.
Now notice those same people jumping out of the way to avoid being run over by Bryce! I think a few choice words might have been said and maybe a few prayers by everyone involved! Luckily nobody was hurt and I laugh when I look at the picture.
Bryce is in the group of the first 4 riders to get ahead of the pack! He ended up finishing 5th place! WAY TO GO BRYCE!!! 80 miles and several hours later he was beat but had a great time!
It was a fun day. Abbey and Braxton made some new friends with Rich & Kaylyn Black's kids and we all went back to the hotel covered from head to toe with red sand!
NOW OFF TO THE BEACH!!!
Sunday we spent driving to California and went to the Newport Beach in the afternoon. The kids have never been to the ocean and they loved playing in the sand. We didn't really get in the water cause it wasn't THAT warm outside.
I love the silouette pictures! Abbey and Braxton had fun running in the shallow water and splashing around.
The water was a little bit colder than Abbey thought and it was funny to watch her jump back and think twice before getting in!
Abbey's favorite things was to find sea shells! She came home with a bucket of them.
Braxton had so much fun building a sand castle with his dad!
Landen loved digging in the sand but you had to watch out cause he loved to flick it all over too and we were victimized several times by him! Braxton had me bury him in the sand. He was a tuff guy and got out all by himself.
Landen loved chasing the seagulls! Glad he didn't get pooped on! :)
Landen wasn't interested in being "King of his Castle!"
Braxton is "King of His Castle!"
Disneyland here we come!!!!
We had such a great time at Disneyland! We were there from open till past close. We didn't take as many pictures here cause we were too busy having fun doing everything! The weather was overcast and not very many people were there so we didn't have to wait very long, or not at all, to get on rides. Braxton was SOOOO excited to do the "Jedi Training" and to fight Darth Vader!!! Abbey wanted to do the training as well but she didn't want to fight Darth Vader. Little did she realize that if you did the training, you had to fight him. They both did really well. Abbey kept smiling while she was fighting him and they teased her that her smile threw him off. She was pretty proud of that. Braxton tries to teach Landen the things he learned at Disneyland but the training isn't going quite so smoothly.
Braxton was excited about everything (as usual) and Abbey seemed to hold back her excitement like she always does. They both had a great time and LOVED the pirate stuff. Which it surprised me that their souveniers were all pirate stuff and nothing to do with princesses!
Landen didn't feel top notch that day so he was pretty mellow (which was a real blessing) but he felt good enough to act excited to go on the rides. Braxton wasn't tall enough to go on Indiana Jones with me so Abbey put on her brave face and went. I had a great time going on it with her. We met some cool characters and just had a great time doing everything that we could get to! I see now why people go for a few days, but one day was enough for Bryce. Here are some pictures:
You would never guess that Bryce is on his phone, on a ride, at DISNEYLAND! I just had to take this picture... and I got in trouble by the people at Disneyland for taking a piture while we were on a ride, but it was worth it!
The neighbors let us borrow a Jedi costume and he is all excited and waiting for the training to start!
Abbey doing the Jedi training too. She made a cute poster to help the kids get picked out of the huge crowd.
Abbey fighting Darth Vader. She did an awesome job. I was really worried about her cause she didn't want to fight him but finally realized that she would be okay afte she saw a few other kids survive the ordeal. They tried hard to convince her to come over to the "dark side" but she smiled a huge smile and refused over and over.
Braxton's dream come true! He finally got to fight Darth Vader and still talks about beating him! You better watch out cause Braxton will use his Jedi powers on you!
Abbey, Braxton and Landen with Mickey Mouse. Landen just kept shouting out "Mouse?!" over and over while we were waiting in line. He was looking all over for Mickey Mouse. Now he gets excited to see him on his diapers.
Tinkerbell with Abbey and Braxton. I was surprised that Braxton wanted to meet her but he loves the magical side of everything! Abbey was funny cause she didn't really look at her while she was talking to them and didn't seem to know how to react to her. Maybe Abbey is just shy. Who knows what she was thinking cause she showed no emotion and doesn't ever talk about meeting her.
Braxton w/ Aladdin.
Oh, one more thing. It was so cute. While we were waiting for Disneyland to open they tell you about how all your dreams come true at Disneyland. Throughout the day Braxton would randomly tell us, "All your dreams come true at Disneyland!", "How do they make your dreams come true?", "Is it REALLY true that your dreams come true at Disneyland?" and when we were watching the Fantasmic show at the end of the night with Mickey Mouse in it he kept telling Bryce that all of his dreams would come true cause we were at Disneyland! I love it! I finally asked Braxton what his dream was that he wanted to come true and he said,"I want Spiderman to come and rescue me." Not sure what he wants to be rescued from... or how that will all work out... but I guess that is why it is a dream!
Enough of California... Arizona is our next stop to see Dave, Lori and Ila!!!
Dave had to work the first day we were there so we lounged around and went swimming with the kids. The weather was perfect and I didn't want the day to end. What more could you want than just lounging at the side of the pool getting a tan and looking at the beautiful flowers surrounding you??? Okay, a pina colada would have been nice but I settled for a package of fruit snacks.
Poor Landen, you can see it in his face and eyes that he doesn't feel good. He wanted to go swimming but didn't last more than a few minutes. We pulled him out of the pool, wrapped him in a blanket and he slept on my chest while I sat on the sidelines watching everyone have fun! I enjoyed snuggling with him since he hardly does that anymore. Too bad he had to be sick to do it though!
Ila and Braxton enjoying Lori's pool mattress.
Bryce would launch Abbey through the air and into the pool. We had fun watching them and Abbey enjoys it. I think that she is going to start growing a few gills and fins!
This is at the start of our pool day and everyone is having a great time! Lori didn't want any pictures of her but I thought that she wouldn't mind this one since she is hiding behind the pool toy! :)
The next day we headed off to a ghost town from old gold mines. We had a great time checking it all out and meeting some "real" cowboys, eating gold nugget gum and seeing several dozen poisonous snakes, spiders and all sorts of nasty stuff! EWWW! Dave and Lori were so fabulous to us and we didn't want to leave!
Our family with 'real cowboys'!
Such a cute picture of Landen, Ila, Braxton & Abbey at the ghost town.
Doesn't Landen just look so adorable in this hat!? I am still kicking myself that I didn't buy it. He is actually reaching up to take it off so maybe he wouldn't have liked it. He did like the train ride we went on though.
Our family. Check out that massive cactus!!! Holy cow! It takes about 70 years for a cactus to grow any "arms" and they weigh 100 lbs per foot! That is a big cactus!!!
Our last stop, back to St. George for a wedding!
It is Friday morning at 6 am and we are up and ready (not really ready, but forced to) head to St. George for Barry's wedding (Bryce's youngest brother). We were excited to go to the wedding but sad to see our vacation come to an end. We all know that weddings are a whole bunch of work and such a LONG day! It was a great day though. I love sitting in the temple with Bryce when people get married and fall more and more in love with him! It reaffirms to me that he is the right one for me and I JUST LOVE IT!
Barry and his wife, Sam, as they are leaving the reception. Congratulations!!! We are excited to have Sam be a part of the family. The kids absolutely love her and Barry has to fight to get the kids away from her!
Our little family in front of the St. George Temple. We had such a great time together so it just capped off our trip to be reminded that if we do what we are supposed to be doing that we will be together for FOREVER!
Well, now that you have lived every minute of our 10 day trip... I am done for now! It was so good for our family to go on our own little vacation that isn't tied to a family reunion, camping or some sort of holiday. I highly recommend it!
We started off on Friday February 27th heading to St. George for Bryce's "Rhino Rally" desert dirt bike race. We spent the evening at the park, went out to eat at Wingers (the wait at the Olive Garden was WAY too long and the kids were really disappointed)and headed to bed cause we knew that we would have a long day ahead of us with Bryce's race.
Saturday morning we were up at the crack of dawn and Bryce had some pre-race jitters. We fed the kids and headed off to Washington, UT to the middle of no-where for the race. About a half an hour of driving on dirt roads and such we made it to the spot and off Bryce went with his buddy, Rich Black, to "check things out" while he ditched me and the kids with Rich's wife, Kaylyn, and her two kids. (Kaylyn is really nice and it all worked out well though but a bit awkward at first.) I wasn't too concern with what to do with the hours we had on our hands till the race began since there was endless dirt to play in and the kids LOVE to play in the dirt... but it didn't go so well. They hadn't been outside more than a few minutes when Abbey came in with a panic cause Landen and Braxton had both fallen in cactus. I had no idea that there were so many million little pokey quill type things on a cactus!!!
After forever of pulling them out of their clothes and skin... and a few in my hands from pulling them out... we were good. Abbey tried to stick her hand in a hole that was "already dug out of the ground" by a rock, I panicked, told her to never stick her hands in holes you didn't dig and stay away from them because we have no idea what is actually living in there!! (I am not a fan of snakes, scorpions or anything else!)
Finally around 1 pm Bryce's race began. It was 80 miles long with a crazy start! All of the riders line up and when the flag goes down they start their bikes and pray they don't get run over by somebody around them! I took a few pictures of Bryce's start:
Can't really see him well in this photo but there are so many bikes!
Bryce is in the middle of the photo. He has an orange KTM bike, brown riding gear on and a helmet with the yellow M on it.
He is ahead of the pack and a bit out of control as he hits rocks and such.
Notice the people standing in the middle of the way. They were the ones that had to hold the flag up for 1 minute to signal them to go.
Now notice those same people jumping out of the way to avoid being run over by Bryce! I think a few choice words might have been said and maybe a few prayers by everyone involved! Luckily nobody was hurt and I laugh when I look at the picture.
Bryce is in the group of the first 4 riders to get ahead of the pack! He ended up finishing 5th place! WAY TO GO BRYCE!!! 80 miles and several hours later he was beat but had a great time!
It was a fun day. Abbey and Braxton made some new friends with Rich & Kaylyn Black's kids and we all went back to the hotel covered from head to toe with red sand!
NOW OFF TO THE BEACH!!!
Sunday we spent driving to California and went to the Newport Beach in the afternoon. The kids have never been to the ocean and they loved playing in the sand. We didn't really get in the water cause it wasn't THAT warm outside.
I love the silouette pictures! Abbey and Braxton had fun running in the shallow water and splashing around.
The water was a little bit colder than Abbey thought and it was funny to watch her jump back and think twice before getting in!
Abbey's favorite things was to find sea shells! She came home with a bucket of them.
Braxton had so much fun building a sand castle with his dad!
Landen loved digging in the sand but you had to watch out cause he loved to flick it all over too and we were victimized several times by him! Braxton had me bury him in the sand. He was a tuff guy and got out all by himself.
Landen loved chasing the seagulls! Glad he didn't get pooped on! :)
Landen wasn't interested in being "King of his Castle!"
Braxton is "King of His Castle!"
Disneyland here we come!!!!
We had such a great time at Disneyland! We were there from open till past close. We didn't take as many pictures here cause we were too busy having fun doing everything! The weather was overcast and not very many people were there so we didn't have to wait very long, or not at all, to get on rides. Braxton was SOOOO excited to do the "Jedi Training" and to fight Darth Vader!!! Abbey wanted to do the training as well but she didn't want to fight Darth Vader. Little did she realize that if you did the training, you had to fight him. They both did really well. Abbey kept smiling while she was fighting him and they teased her that her smile threw him off. She was pretty proud of that. Braxton tries to teach Landen the things he learned at Disneyland but the training isn't going quite so smoothly.
Braxton was excited about everything (as usual) and Abbey seemed to hold back her excitement like she always does. They both had a great time and LOVED the pirate stuff. Which it surprised me that their souveniers were all pirate stuff and nothing to do with princesses!
Landen didn't feel top notch that day so he was pretty mellow (which was a real blessing) but he felt good enough to act excited to go on the rides. Braxton wasn't tall enough to go on Indiana Jones with me so Abbey put on her brave face and went. I had a great time going on it with her. We met some cool characters and just had a great time doing everything that we could get to! I see now why people go for a few days, but one day was enough for Bryce. Here are some pictures:
You would never guess that Bryce is on his phone, on a ride, at DISNEYLAND! I just had to take this picture... and I got in trouble by the people at Disneyland for taking a piture while we were on a ride, but it was worth it!
The neighbors let us borrow a Jedi costume and he is all excited and waiting for the training to start!
Abbey doing the Jedi training too. She made a cute poster to help the kids get picked out of the huge crowd.
Abbey fighting Darth Vader. She did an awesome job. I was really worried about her cause she didn't want to fight him but finally realized that she would be okay afte she saw a few other kids survive the ordeal. They tried hard to convince her to come over to the "dark side" but she smiled a huge smile and refused over and over.
Braxton's dream come true! He finally got to fight Darth Vader and still talks about beating him! You better watch out cause Braxton will use his Jedi powers on you!
Abbey, Braxton and Landen with Mickey Mouse. Landen just kept shouting out "Mouse?!" over and over while we were waiting in line. He was looking all over for Mickey Mouse. Now he gets excited to see him on his diapers.
Tinkerbell with Abbey and Braxton. I was surprised that Braxton wanted to meet her but he loves the magical side of everything! Abbey was funny cause she didn't really look at her while she was talking to them and didn't seem to know how to react to her. Maybe Abbey is just shy. Who knows what she was thinking cause she showed no emotion and doesn't ever talk about meeting her.
Braxton w/ Aladdin.Oh, one more thing. It was so cute. While we were waiting for Disneyland to open they tell you about how all your dreams come true at Disneyland. Throughout the day Braxton would randomly tell us, "All your dreams come true at Disneyland!", "How do they make your dreams come true?", "Is it REALLY true that your dreams come true at Disneyland?" and when we were watching the Fantasmic show at the end of the night with Mickey Mouse in it he kept telling Bryce that all of his dreams would come true cause we were at Disneyland! I love it! I finally asked Braxton what his dream was that he wanted to come true and he said,"I want Spiderman to come and rescue me." Not sure what he wants to be rescued from... or how that will all work out... but I guess that is why it is a dream!
Enough of California... Arizona is our next stop to see Dave, Lori and Ila!!!
Dave had to work the first day we were there so we lounged around and went swimming with the kids. The weather was perfect and I didn't want the day to end. What more could you want than just lounging at the side of the pool getting a tan and looking at the beautiful flowers surrounding you??? Okay, a pina colada would have been nice but I settled for a package of fruit snacks.
Poor Landen, you can see it in his face and eyes that he doesn't feel good. He wanted to go swimming but didn't last more than a few minutes. We pulled him out of the pool, wrapped him in a blanket and he slept on my chest while I sat on the sidelines watching everyone have fun! I enjoyed snuggling with him since he hardly does that anymore. Too bad he had to be sick to do it though!
Ila and Braxton enjoying Lori's pool mattress.
Bryce would launch Abbey through the air and into the pool. We had fun watching them and Abbey enjoys it. I think that she is going to start growing a few gills and fins!
This is at the start of our pool day and everyone is having a great time! Lori didn't want any pictures of her but I thought that she wouldn't mind this one since she is hiding behind the pool toy! :)The next day we headed off to a ghost town from old gold mines. We had a great time checking it all out and meeting some "real" cowboys, eating gold nugget gum and seeing several dozen poisonous snakes, spiders and all sorts of nasty stuff! EWWW! Dave and Lori were so fabulous to us and we didn't want to leave!
Our family with 'real cowboys'!
Such a cute picture of Landen, Ila, Braxton & Abbey at the ghost town.
Doesn't Landen just look so adorable in this hat!? I am still kicking myself that I didn't buy it. He is actually reaching up to take it off so maybe he wouldn't have liked it. He did like the train ride we went on though.
Our family. Check out that massive cactus!!! Holy cow! It takes about 70 years for a cactus to grow any "arms" and they weigh 100 lbs per foot! That is a big cactus!!!
Our last stop, back to St. George for a wedding!
It is Friday morning at 6 am and we are up and ready (not really ready, but forced to) head to St. George for Barry's wedding (Bryce's youngest brother). We were excited to go to the wedding but sad to see our vacation come to an end. We all know that weddings are a whole bunch of work and such a LONG day! It was a great day though. I love sitting in the temple with Bryce when people get married and fall more and more in love with him! It reaffirms to me that he is the right one for me and I JUST LOVE IT!
Barry and his wife, Sam, as they are leaving the reception. Congratulations!!! We are excited to have Sam be a part of the family. The kids absolutely love her and Barry has to fight to get the kids away from her!
Our little family in front of the St. George Temple. We had such a great time together so it just capped off our trip to be reminded that if we do what we are supposed to be doing that we will be together for FOREVER!
Well, now that you have lived every minute of our 10 day trip... I am done for now! It was so good for our family to go on our own little vacation that isn't tied to a family reunion, camping or some sort of holiday. I highly recommend it!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
I Love...
Valentine's Day makes me think about the people that I love... and the things that they love. I try to make the day special (and have probably gone a little overboard cause they expect something cool to happen every minute of the day) but we have fun. I know that I get a little "wordy" with things so I am cutting myself off now and just listing some things that my Valentine's love:
Bryce loves...
*Dirt bikes
*Electronics
*Taking REALLY long baths (2 or more hours)
*Playing with the kids
*Doing absolutely NOTHING!
*Watching movies
*Me and our family (he said to put this one down)...I believe him :)
I love how patient and thoughtful Bryce is. He gives me the best homemade cards with a million reasons he loves and appreciates me. He always opens my door for me and ALWAYS gives me a hug and a kiss before he leaves for work (or anywhere else he is going.)
Abbey loves...
*Gum
*Drawing, coloring, making cards
*Playing school and house (she always wants to be the mom or teacher)
*Doing math
*Baking treats with me
*Riding bikes
*Talking & Singing
*Sharing her stuff with everyone!
*Doing her own hair
*Putting on make-up (when she is allowed)
*Fruits and Veggies!
Abbey is so kind hearted and is always willing to help and think of other people. If we make treats of any sort she usually has a few people in mind that we should share them with. She cracks me up though cause she won't drink the chocolate milk at school cause "she doesn't want to eat too much sugar in one day." What kid even thinks about this???? She is a good helper and is very tender hearted.
Braxton loves...
*Super heros (Incredible Hulk, Superman, Indiana Jones, etc...)
*To pretend to be super heros
*Watching TV - you have to pull him away or he would watch all day.
*Playing sports- especially going to "Itty Bitty Ball" with his dad
*Teasing Landen
*Motorcycles (and going on rides with his dad)
*Sugar - this kid can't get enough treats!
*Wrestling
*Music
*Fruit and veggies (though he will try ANYTHING)
Braxton is full of energy and enthusiasm. It gets hard to focus his energy on positive things sometimes but he has a hug and a kiss that just melts your heart. He looks up to so many people and wants to do just what they do. He told me the other day that he wanted to "quit preschool and work at T-Mobile with Bryce all day." Not going to happen but I am glad that he loves his dad and wants to be just like him!
Landen loves...
*To run and jump on everything!
*Motorcyles (no ride is ever long enough. If he gets tired he just falls asleep riding)
*To dance to music (even constrained in his carseat his head, arms and legs are flying all over the place when the radio is on)
*To talk... though he is really shy with almost everyone!
*Splashing in the bathtub
*Sugar and treats - can't ever get enough
*Bananas- they are his favorite food (along with most other frutis)
*To suck all of his toothpaste off his toothbrush and then suck it out of the toothpaste container. We have to watch out for this one!
*Balls and playing sports
*Light switches
*Shaving with his dad
*Tractors, dogs & kitties
Landen just cracks us up. He is so funny with his expressions and his sneaky little ideas. It is hard to get mad at him when he smiles from ear to ear. He always wants his bumps and bruises kissed better. He can spot a piece of lint from across the room and has to bring it to me to throw in the garbage (a little bit like his mother and sister!) He always wants to be doing what everyone else is doing and hates to have naps or go to bed.
I am lucky to have such great Valentine's in my life! I love them to death!
Bryce loves...
*Dirt bikes
*Electronics
*Taking REALLY long baths (2 or more hours)
*Playing with the kids
*Doing absolutely NOTHING!
*Watching movies
*Me and our family (he said to put this one down)...I believe him :)
I love how patient and thoughtful Bryce is. He gives me the best homemade cards with a million reasons he loves and appreciates me. He always opens my door for me and ALWAYS gives me a hug and a kiss before he leaves for work (or anywhere else he is going.)
Abbey loves...
*Gum
*Drawing, coloring, making cards
*Playing school and house (she always wants to be the mom or teacher)
*Doing math
*Baking treats with me
*Riding bikes
*Talking & Singing
*Sharing her stuff with everyone!
*Doing her own hair
*Putting on make-up (when she is allowed)
*Fruits and Veggies!
Abbey is so kind hearted and is always willing to help and think of other people. If we make treats of any sort she usually has a few people in mind that we should share them with. She cracks me up though cause she won't drink the chocolate milk at school cause "she doesn't want to eat too much sugar in one day." What kid even thinks about this???? She is a good helper and is very tender hearted.
Braxton loves...
*Super heros (Incredible Hulk, Superman, Indiana Jones, etc...)
*To pretend to be super heros
*Watching TV - you have to pull him away or he would watch all day.
*Playing sports- especially going to "Itty Bitty Ball" with his dad
*Teasing Landen
*Motorcycles (and going on rides with his dad)
*Sugar - this kid can't get enough treats!
*Wrestling
*Music
*Fruit and veggies (though he will try ANYTHING)
Braxton is full of energy and enthusiasm. It gets hard to focus his energy on positive things sometimes but he has a hug and a kiss that just melts your heart. He looks up to so many people and wants to do just what they do. He told me the other day that he wanted to "quit preschool and work at T-Mobile with Bryce all day." Not going to happen but I am glad that he loves his dad and wants to be just like him!
Landen loves...
*To run and jump on everything!
*Motorcyles (no ride is ever long enough. If he gets tired he just falls asleep riding)
*To dance to music (even constrained in his carseat his head, arms and legs are flying all over the place when the radio is on)
*To talk... though he is really shy with almost everyone!
*Splashing in the bathtub
*Sugar and treats - can't ever get enough
*Bananas- they are his favorite food (along with most other frutis)
*To suck all of his toothpaste off his toothbrush and then suck it out of the toothpaste container. We have to watch out for this one!
*Balls and playing sports
*Light switches
*Shaving with his dad
*Tractors, dogs & kitties
Landen just cracks us up. He is so funny with his expressions and his sneaky little ideas. It is hard to get mad at him when he smiles from ear to ear. He always wants his bumps and bruises kissed better. He can spot a piece of lint from across the room and has to bring it to me to throw in the garbage (a little bit like his mother and sister!) He always wants to be doing what everyone else is doing and hates to have naps or go to bed.
I am lucky to have such great Valentine's in my life! I love them to death!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Awesome Experience!
Last Friday we took the kids to the Draper Temple Open House and it was AWESOME! All of the kids were so well behaved and I wished that I would have been able to get a picture of Landen walking through the temple with his arms folded just looking at everything! They loved it and knew that it was such a special place to be. Braxton kept looking for Jesus while we were there. I told him that it was Jesus' house and he can come to the temple... he wanted to "shake his hand" REALLY bad.
The best part of the trip was being in the Celestial Room with my little family! The Spirit was so strong in there. I asked the kids what they thought and Abbey and Braxton both answered that they had a good / happy feeling there. They couldn't stop staring at the huge chandelier. We sat down in a few chairs and I was surprised at how long they wanted to stay and just sit... no talking... no treats... just feeling the Spirit. It was all I could do to not start crying thinking about how much I loved my family and how I want to be with them for eternity. It was a really special day and I am glad that we took the time to go!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Update to frustration...
Before somebody sends over the straight jacket for me to wear... I figured that I should update you on my mental state and make a correction to my complaint list.
Correction- Bryce says that it isn't him that is leaving the light on in the spare bedroom. Without putting in security cameras to catch the offender... I will take his word for it.
Bryce had no idea what he walked into last night when he came home from his class. When we met at Parent Teacher Conference last night I was fine and then for some reason...3 hours later... I am ticked off and NOT in the mood to talk. He was VERY patient with me, let me finish my blog entry and came upstairs and helped me do the dishes and picked up a few things in the family room. He then let me take a hot bath and read the Ensign. Wow, did that help! I was a whole new woman after that. Maybe it was the fact that he jumped in to help and I didn't FEEL so alone in trying to tackle all of the responsibilities of our family on my own-- cause I know that I am not alone but for some reason there seems to be a short circuit from my brain to my emotions at times (like last night).
Anyway- while I was lying there in bed trying to sleep (sometime after 11 pm) my mind wouldn't stop spinning. I came up with a few things that I am hoping will help me survive:
Problem: Abbey having a meltdown when she comes home froms school cause she just wants to watch cartoons or play with friends. -Braxton is watching cartoons and that doesn't help.
Solution: NO cartoons on at all. I am going to try and have a snack for the kids and get out coloring projects for the boys to do while we work on Abbey's spelling and math. Then after 4 pm- cartoons can come on and friends might be invited over. Also- during this time I need to be aware that I can't plan on getting anything done off of my list cause it is "kid's" time right now. Unless it is an emergency- I probably won't answer the phone either.
Problem: Not keeping my spiritual cup full- not reading the scriptures consistently.
Solution: Since I need time to sit down at night and by the time we go to bed I am exhausted... I am going to try to have scripture study right after the kids go to bed (around 8) at the dining room table (or the office if Bryce is watching tv) so that I won't fall asleep and can possibly really dive into the scriptures. I read a good article in the February Ensign last night about really studying the scriptures and I think that one article alone was the reason I needed to pick up the Ensign to read instead of catching up on my Better Homes and Gardens Magazines.
As far as the house goes... it always works out and some days I have more energy to do more projects than others and I am glad that my house is generally clean- not perfect like I want- but clean.
I also realized that one thing that sent me over the edge was that I found out about something that I should be to on Saturday that I hadn't planned on doing and for some reason when other people try to change my "agenda" that I have planned.. I don't do very well with that. I wouldn't be surprised if Bryce started stocking up on tranquilizers for such random events as this.
Anyway- I am doing much better today and I think that my hormones have come back to planet earth again!
Correction- Bryce says that it isn't him that is leaving the light on in the spare bedroom. Without putting in security cameras to catch the offender... I will take his word for it.
Bryce had no idea what he walked into last night when he came home from his class. When we met at Parent Teacher Conference last night I was fine and then for some reason...3 hours later... I am ticked off and NOT in the mood to talk. He was VERY patient with me, let me finish my blog entry and came upstairs and helped me do the dishes and picked up a few things in the family room. He then let me take a hot bath and read the Ensign. Wow, did that help! I was a whole new woman after that. Maybe it was the fact that he jumped in to help and I didn't FEEL so alone in trying to tackle all of the responsibilities of our family on my own-- cause I know that I am not alone but for some reason there seems to be a short circuit from my brain to my emotions at times (like last night).
Anyway- while I was lying there in bed trying to sleep (sometime after 11 pm) my mind wouldn't stop spinning. I came up with a few things that I am hoping will help me survive:
Problem: Abbey having a meltdown when she comes home froms school cause she just wants to watch cartoons or play with friends. -Braxton is watching cartoons and that doesn't help.
Solution: NO cartoons on at all. I am going to try and have a snack for the kids and get out coloring projects for the boys to do while we work on Abbey's spelling and math. Then after 4 pm- cartoons can come on and friends might be invited over. Also- during this time I need to be aware that I can't plan on getting anything done off of my list cause it is "kid's" time right now. Unless it is an emergency- I probably won't answer the phone either.
Problem: Not keeping my spiritual cup full- not reading the scriptures consistently.
Solution: Since I need time to sit down at night and by the time we go to bed I am exhausted... I am going to try to have scripture study right after the kids go to bed (around 8) at the dining room table (or the office if Bryce is watching tv) so that I won't fall asleep and can possibly really dive into the scriptures. I read a good article in the February Ensign last night about really studying the scriptures and I think that one article alone was the reason I needed to pick up the Ensign to read instead of catching up on my Better Homes and Gardens Magazines.
As far as the house goes... it always works out and some days I have more energy to do more projects than others and I am glad that my house is generally clean- not perfect like I want- but clean.
I also realized that one thing that sent me over the edge was that I found out about something that I should be to on Saturday that I hadn't planned on doing and for some reason when other people try to change my "agenda" that I have planned.. I don't do very well with that. I wouldn't be surprised if Bryce started stocking up on tranquilizers for such random events as this.
Anyway- I am doing much better today and I think that my hormones have come back to planet earth again!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Frustrated....
Today is just one of those bummer days... I like perfection and that doesn't seem to happen anymore around here. I have been trying so hard to let go of some things because they don't truly matter in the long run of life but I am not sure if I am going to make it to the end without going crazy! Since my blog has practically become my journal you will probably just want to skip this entry till my hormones have balanced out and I am back on planet earth... until then... I am going to write down a few things that are driving me nuts in hope that I will look at the list, see how stupid it is and buck up.
1. Bryce keeps leaving the light on in the spare bedroom when he exercises in the morning and I notice is about 1/2 way through the day.. get frustrated that we are wasting electricity and risk my life to get down the stairs to turn it off cause there are a million toys on the stairs from having family over.
2. There are a million toys on the basement stairs (and all over the playroom and spare bedroom.)
3. I need quiet time each day and am thankful the boys take a nap but many days I don't have enough energy to make it through the day without a nap myself. If I take a nap- I don't get anything done and I don't get my quiet time to do get things done. GRRRRR...
4. How in the world do you spend quality time trying to help your kids learn to read and help with homework (while they are having a meltdown about not wanting to do homework) when you have two other active kids who demand attention constantly by fighting, crying, getting into trouble or just plain needing something cause they are little?
5. I don't want to get lost in all of my committments but have no clue what to drop to make time for a hobby.
6. I can't seem to keep track of Abbey's homework sheet. We have to have our own "treasure hunt" around the house to find it.
Ok. So after making my list (which I had to stop typing cause I couldn't ever write it all down and who needs to be so depressed) I have realized that I am frustrated that my house isn't perfectly clean, I am tired of cleaning it to have it go back to messy in 3.2 seconds and there are other things I want to spend my time doing! Hopefully I can go get some stuff done, get some sleep tonight and wake up in a better mood tomorrow!
I wouldn't mind if the sun came out a little bit more and it warmed up to 60 degrees! :) What am I thinking though... it is February in Utah... I guess I need to move to a warmer climate!
1. Bryce keeps leaving the light on in the spare bedroom when he exercises in the morning and I notice is about 1/2 way through the day.. get frustrated that we are wasting electricity and risk my life to get down the stairs to turn it off cause there are a million toys on the stairs from having family over.
2. There are a million toys on the basement stairs (and all over the playroom and spare bedroom.)
3. I need quiet time each day and am thankful the boys take a nap but many days I don't have enough energy to make it through the day without a nap myself. If I take a nap- I don't get anything done and I don't get my quiet time to do get things done. GRRRRR...
4. How in the world do you spend quality time trying to help your kids learn to read and help with homework (while they are having a meltdown about not wanting to do homework) when you have two other active kids who demand attention constantly by fighting, crying, getting into trouble or just plain needing something cause they are little?
5. I don't want to get lost in all of my committments but have no clue what to drop to make time for a hobby.
6. I can't seem to keep track of Abbey's homework sheet. We have to have our own "treasure hunt" around the house to find it.
Ok. So after making my list (which I had to stop typing cause I couldn't ever write it all down and who needs to be so depressed) I have realized that I am frustrated that my house isn't perfectly clean, I am tired of cleaning it to have it go back to messy in 3.2 seconds and there are other things I want to spend my time doing! Hopefully I can go get some stuff done, get some sleep tonight and wake up in a better mood tomorrow!
I wouldn't mind if the sun came out a little bit more and it warmed up to 60 degrees! :) What am I thinking though... it is February in Utah... I guess I need to move to a warmer climate!
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