spring break in SLC

This year we had a feeling that our days of free flying were coming to an end, so for spring break we flew to SLC to get a big dose of family time! We also had a great dose of skiing, in the gorgeous March weather! One of the highlights of our trip was taking the kids (and the entire family!-well except Joe who was still in Iraq) to Temple Square, which we haven't been to in a very long time. It was really a beautiful day and it was so neat to see all of the new displays! We really learned a lot about the temple and the early saints who settled the Utah valley. Then we were able to get all of us together for a family picture in front of the beautiful Salt Lake Temple.

The kids just had to touch the water, and it was the best photo opportunity I've had in a long time! My cute kids!

random winter highlights!

Dodgeball for diabetes! The boys both participated in their school on dodgeball teams to raise money for juvenile diabetes! Jaxon's team was the "angry garden gnomes" :) Their shirts were really awesome! It was fun to see him play with all of his best friends!


St Patrick's Day! I made the traditional corned beef and cabbage, and then decided to add more green and gold to the meal, with broccoli, jello, and green water. And leprechaun cupcakes. The kids told me I was the most awesome mom ever. I am only documenting this to use as evidence someday that I actually did do fun things for them on rare occasions... :)

For the cub scouts "blue and gold banquet" it is a tradition for the boys to make a cake and decorate it in some theme that relates to them. Well, there was no freaking way I was going to make 2 cakes this year, so I made one cake, divided it down the middle and let the boys each decorate one side. they did it mostly on their own and I was very impressed with the final results! Jaxon's is a "puffle" from Club Penguin, and Traeden's is the Ohio State "block O" with a money ball :)



Coco Key! Every year around mid-march, we realize that the Chicago winter weather that we are so ready to be rid of, just isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It is depressing. So this year we took a little mini trip to Rockford to enjoy an indoor water park and pretend like it was a tropical vacation. It was so much fun, the kids can't wait to go again!

The trip was so perfect. We all had such a blast, everything worked out so well, it wasn't crowded, we ate at great restaurants, Dave received good news in his search for a job, life was good. Until we were driving home that night and our car completely died. At night. In the rain. In the middle of nowhere. Seriously. A tow truck came to rescue us and pulled our car up on to the truck bed WITH ALL OF US STILL IN THE CAR and drove us about 7 miles to the next freeway exit, where it dropped us off at a hotel. Scariest thing ever, riding in a car, on a car, in a storm, at night. Not anything I ever wish to experience again! Thankfully some really good friends came and picked us up. So not the best ending to a really great trip, but we survived!

fun with aunt bug

One of the biggest highlights of 2010-11 was having Talysa (aka "bug") live with us. It was the best! We all absolutely loved having her here and we were all so devastated when she moved back to Utah! The kids had so much fun playing with her every day. Araleigh loved shadowing her "best friend" all the time.

I am on a mission to get her to move back to Chicago, or wherever we live at any given time! I miss having her here every single day!!!

We're 30!

Yes, it has finally happened. We have turned 30. And ya know, it was so not a big deal!!! I welcome 30 with open arms! I even threw it a big fat party!!! We invited our favorite Illinois friends to come and party with us, and what more appropriate way to initiate yourself into your fourth decade than crashing around in bumper cars while throwing rubber balls at eachother???

Yes, we had a Whirlyball party and it was a BLAST!!!!! Yes, there were a few battle wounds, and yes, we were all very sore and feeling quite old the next day, but who cares? It was so fun!!!!

It was hard to get a decent picture of the fast-moving game in progress, but you get the idea...

the boys. Don't stand too close guys. Would hate for you all to actually make it into the shot. :)

The girls. That's better. I think we actually like eachother!

It was such a fun night!!! But if that wasn't good enough, look at what our sweet kids did for us!!!

On my birthday, Jaxon set up a "store" for me and hand-made various gifts that were available for me to purchase, with currency that he made for me! So cute! He worked so hard on it and was so sweet about making me feel special!

Some of the store's offerings included "Worlds best mom" posters, pipe-cleaner bracelets, and bookmarks!

On Dave's birthday, they also made some hand-made cards and gifts, and then all 3 kids lovingly made this "Best Parents Ever!" poster for both of us!

We are so lucky to have such amazing, sweet, and thoughtful kids! I love these people!

Christmas 2010

Christmas of 2010 was a good one! We had the usual business, but I was definitely more on top of things this year, and we had a lot of fun!

We actually made the gingerbread house BEFORE Christmas, which was a huge accomplishment. The past 2 years the kids ended up making them mid-January! The outside lights however, still have not been hung on our home for 11 of our 12 Christmases together...well there's always next year!...

Jaxon was so incredibly excited to decorate the tree, as I'm sure you can see here :)

Christmas morning actually came a day early this year. We had hopes of flying to Utah on Christmas Day, which was going to be a long-shot, and so we wouldn't be stressed about getting out the door we asked Santa if he could come the morning of the 24th instead. The kids didn't mind a bit. :) Christmas Eve morning the kids were delighted to see that Santa did come, and enjoyed many great surprises! Some highlights include:

Tickets to the Rush concert!!!! The boys were so excited for their first concert, even though they had to wait until April! They were thrilled to get the tickets!

I wish Jaxon was better about showing his emotions....I'm not sure whether he liked this RC helicopter or not...

But I think Traeden did!!!

Araleigh was super happy to receive her magic oven (and I was super excited that it was NOT an Easybake oven, and that it "cooks" pretend food!!!!)

After the kids had all opened their gifts and were playing happily in all the wonderful chaotic mess of Christmas morning, we decided to look at the flights and see how our chances of getting on a standby flight on Christmas day were looking. Dave then discovered that there were some open flights that could get us there that night, which left in about 3 hours. We literally threw our suitcases together, got dressed, and were out the door in less than an hour. We flew from Chicago to San Francisco and then on to Utah and arrived Christmas Eve around midnight. We decided we would have fun surprising our family Christmas morning, since no one knew we were there or if we'd even make it in, so we stayed at a hotel in downtown SLC overlooking the beautiful Temple Square and took a cab to Sandy the next morning. It was so fun to surprise everyone! We had such a wonderful time spending Christmas with our families! We of course got in plenty of skiing while we were there and just had a really great time! It was a very memorable holiday!

Araleigh

Araleigh. Oh how I love my daughter. The boys at her age were so much fun, but there is just something about a little girl that just melts your heart. And Araleigh is no exception. I wanted to post a few random Araleigh memories so that I will never forget how much fun she is!

First, Araleigh loves to pose for the camera. She hears us tell her how beautiful she is all the time and she completely believes us. I hope she never loses her confidence and love for herself!

Also, she loves to dance! Araleigh is constantly dancing! This girl doesn't walk. She flits, floats, skips, twirls, leaps, and glides. She is a very joyful girl and constantly expresses that joy through her every move! I hope she always has a love for dance!

Araleigh is a troublemaker! Never have the boys gotten into as much trouble as this girl! And she is a repeat offender! I can't believe how many times she has been in trouble for coloring on the walls, sneaking the dog into her bed, stealing kitchen utensils, CUTTING HER HAIR, hiding her brothers' stuff, taking off to a friend's house without telling anyone....yes she keeps me busy. But she always has such a good reason, how can I possibly be mad?

Araleigh is fancy! Araleigh loves to decorate absolutely everything she owns! Her walls are covered with stickers and rhinestones. Her stuffed animals all have lipstick and eyelashes drawn on them, and they wear fancy outfits and hairbows and earrings! She always insists on being accessorized and has a love for shoes and purses (she sure didn't get that from her mama!!!) Everything is pink and sparkly, even when I took her shopping for a car, she was so mad that I chose a black one, because she wanted a pink one. And she likes to steal my camera and set up photo shoots in her bedroom:

Araleigh is hilarious. She has a great sense of humor and loves to watch funny things and quote them (some favorites are "Harry Potter Puppet Pals," "Kid History," and "Nacho Libre") Some of my favorite Araleigh-isms include: Calling the toilet paper "paper toilet", as in, "MOM! WE'RE OUT OF PAPER TOILET!" Also, calling the newspaper "newspaper mail." She also calls Nutella "tapioca," not sure why! And remember is always pronounced "benember."

Yes, I love my fancy princess!!!

halloween

Halloween 2011 had to be the best and most random Halloween ever! I had a busy fall season so I really didn't do much preparation for the kids Halloween costumes, especially compared to the hand-made creations of the past! The kids literally threw their own costumes together with stuff we had already- it was awesome! Traeden was Zorro, Jaxon was a dementor, and Araleigh was "Barbie in the 3 Musketeers". Oh, and Mizzy was a princess. :)

The second weird part of this Halloween was that our kids really didn't care much about the candy! Usually the boys want to trick or treat for hours, being sure to hit every single house and get as much candy as possible - this year we were out for less than an hour and they were done! It was great! We had probably a fourth of the amounts of candy we usually get! I was so happy! Of course, it made for some smaller, but by no means less elaborate, trains this year :)

Best Halloween Ever!