Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas is in less than a week!  I can't believe it!  I know that it has been months since I last posted.  I am not sure that I will "catch up".  I might just start off from here and move forward.  Here is our year in review.

We always start out the year with a bang.  Gabe and Lydia both have birthdays less than a month after Christmas.  This year Gabe got to have his first birthday party with friends.  Those who read this know that it was a Spiderman theme.  The kid loved Spiderman. (FYI:He has now moved on to an obsession with Lego Star Wars.)

In February Erin and the kids took a trip to Vegas to visit with Grandma Sharon and other family members out there.  Gabe and Lydia LOVED staying at Aunt Shelley's house.  She has lots of fun toys and a hot tub too!  Her grand kids sure are lucky! 

In March for St. Patrick's day a tricky Leprechaun snuck into our house.  He turned milk and toilet water green.  He trapped the kids in their rooms with crepe paper.  He left a trail of crepe paper all over the house.  Thankfully he wasn't all bad and left some green goodies and a box of Lucky Charms.

For Spring Break we signed Gabe up for basketball camp through the YMCA.  There were some other friends from our ward who went too.  Lydia had fun with a friend creating mischief and playing games on my iPhone while we watched Gabe improve his mad skills.

We had a nice Easter spent with family.  We had all of Jon's family come for dinner and an Easter egg hunt.  The kids' eggs were all color coded.  Thanks again to Grandma Suzy and Aunt Meiken and Kirsten for putting all of that together.

The end of April I had the opportunity to go to Women's Conference at BYU with my Mom and my sister Meghan.  We met up with my Aunt and a few of my cousins.  It was so nice to get out with some other women and enjoy a few days of classes.  Thanks to Jon for being Mr. Mom for a few days.  He did such a good job, the kids hardly noticed I was gone. 

In May, Gabe had preschool graduation.  I may have shed a tear or two.  I am so grateful for Ms. Janet his preschool teacher.  I was so glad that we wont be saying goodbye to her just yet.  It helped me get through it to know that Lydia would be starting preschool with her in the fall.

We had a wonderful summer.  I tried to schedule it out so that every week we went to the library, had a field trip, played in water, and did science experiments.  The 5th day of the week was our kids favorite, cleaning.:)

My sister Meghan and her husband Jeff, came into town for the 4th of July.  We celebrated at my sister Chelsea's house.  Chelsea's husband Jake turned 30 on the 6th, so 2 days after the 4th we had a fun birthday bash for him complete with bouncy houses and a superhero themed cake! 

In July we went on a family vacation to the Oregon coast.  We had such a wonderful time as a family.  We drove up to Astoria and made our way down the coast from there and ended in Pacific City.  There were many highlights of that trip including a funny story about Jon and Lydia.  I am not going to share it here, but if you get a chance, ask me about it.  We also got a chance to stop and see Mount St. Helens.  If you know Gabe, you know he is a huge fan of volcanoes.  He was excited to see one in real life.  During the trip the kids each got a Frisbee from a restaurant where we ate.  Lydia wanted the one that Gabe got.  Later in the car when he wasn't looking, she switched with him.  When Gabe got upset and tried to trade back she yelled, "You GET what you GET and you DON'T throw a FIT GABE!"  I still laugh about that one.  Jon had an amazing birthday spent in Pacific City and checking our Yaquina Head lighthouse.  The best part of the trip was sleeping in our new pop-up trailer!  It was so nice to sleep on a real bed but still enjoy the outdoors. 

In August Jon went rafting with his family and the kids in Alpine, Wyoming.  I got a chance to rest and relax, as well as get some crafting and deep cleaning done.  I have to say that I am not use to peace and quiet.  It was nice the first day but by day 2 it was WAY too quiet for me.

The Monday after they got back from rafting I got a call from my mom saying that my sister Meghan was getting married the next day in Utah.  Since it was short notice and was going to be a quick one night stay trip, I drove down with my sister Chelsea.  We threw a small backyard wedding together in 48 hours or less and it turned out very nice.  I was glad that I got to be there for her and Jeff.  We are so happy for them. 

The end of August Gabe started Kindergarten.  I spent all summer stressing about this next step for him.  Thankfully he is doing really well.  He has started reading and really loves riding the bus in the morning.  He has made some really good friends.  One of his new friends is named Kaitlyn.  They are like two peas in a pod.  It is fun to watch them play together.  About a month after school started I was talking to him in bed one night.  This is about how our conversation went.

Gabe (with a big grin on his face.): Mom, I think I am falling in love.

Me: Oh really?  With who?

Gabe: A girl in my class.

Me: What's her name?

Gabe: I don't know.

Me: Well if you think you are falling in love you better figure out what her name is!

A short time later we found out that Kaitlyn lives just around the corner from us.  She also has a younger brother who is 7 months younger than Lydia.  The 4 of them are all good buddies and play really well together.

In September Lydia started preschool.  She had watched me take pictures of Gabe for Kindergarten and wanted her first day of preschool pictures taken in the same places as his.  I wasn't sure how she would do, but, she walked right in and never looked back.  She loves Ms. Janet and can't wait to go every Tuesday and Thursday.  Thursday are her favorite because they are share day and she gets to take something for show and tell.  Every morning she wakes up and asks what day it is.  Today when I told her it was Wednesday she responded with, "That means tomorrow is THURSDAY!"  I love her personality and sometimes, I even love her spunk;).  I worked with her all summer trying to help her learn to write her name.  Whenever I asked her to try it on her own her reply was, "It's too hard!  I can't do it."  A few weeks ago she was sitting and coloring.  When she was finished she brought me a piece of paper.  On the paper was her name written several times.  She wrote it all by herself!  I was so happy!  All of the hours working with her HAD paid off.  I kept that paper.  Every time I look at it I am so proud I want to cry.

It has been nice having both kids in school this fall.  I have 5 hours a week to run errands and get things done kid free.  It has also given me a little more time to work on my new church calling.  The end of July I was called as the Activity Days Leader in our ward.  This means that I work with the girls ages 8-11 years old.  We meet twice a month and work on goals and have activities that help them earn their Faith in God award.  We currently have 18 girls on our list and will be adding 5 or 6 this next year.  I really enjoy planning the activities and spending time with the girls.  There are times when it gets a little bit crazy, but it is always fun.

For Halloween this year Gabe was a pirate and Lydia was a princess.  My wonderful mother helped me sew Lydia's princess dress and it turned out really cute.  Gabe's costume was one from his dress up box and that is something that I was very happy about.  When he said he wanted to be a pirate there were no arguments from me! 

We hosted Thanksgiving this year for my family at our house.  It was a first for me and I was so grateful to be able to host.  One thing that I learned was that I ALWAYS make WAY too much food.  We probably could have fed 20 people with the amount that I prepared. (There were 9 of us.)   I was able to send lots of leftovers home with people!  Jon likes to make fun of me because I always overestimate when it comes to food.  I keep telling him I just don't want anyone to walk away hungry! 

Jon is doing well too.  I haven't written much about him here but he really is the one that helps me keep it all together.  He is still doing real estate.  If you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell he is always happy to help you out.  His church calling is Webelos Assistant and he also team teaches primary CTR 6 with another Brother in the ward.  He really is amazing and I am so grateful to be married to him.  Lucky me!  In September we celebrated our 7 year Anniversary.  Our original plans were to travel and spend the night in Twin Falls but when we both got sick, earlier in the week, we decided to have a quiet evening at home.  It was nice to spend time together enjoying each others company. Jon really enjoyed playing softball this summer and fall.  In the summer he played in both Boise and Meridian.  That got a little crazy for me so this fall he just played in Boise.  The kids and I took some fun rides on the greenbelt during some of his games.   

We have had a wonderful December.  I have enjoyed reading Christmas stories, making caramels, peppernuts, and peanut brittle, and watching all the fun Christmas movies.  We are grateful this time of year for our Savior and the many blessing we enjoy because of the atonement.  I am also grateful for the rededication of the Boise Temple.  I was able to go with my mom yesterday for the first time since the rededication.  It was a joy to feel of the Spirit there in the House of the Lord.  We are grateful for all of the dear friends and family near and far and hope that you all are having a wondrous holiday season.  As we look forward to the new year we are excited to make new goals and look forward to all of the adventures that are to come!  

  

                     

Mother's Day

So I realize that it has been 3 months since I posted anything.  I just haven't been very good about taking pictures lately and there is a lot to catch up on.  I actually haven't downloaded pictures from my camera since that last post about Gabe's birthday party!  I am going to jump ahead to Mother's Day and I will go back and fill in the blank later.

I am a mother.  I have two young kids who I am lucky to get to stay home and take care of.  Some days I don't feel so lucky.  Some days my children scream at me, what seems like 90% of the time.  Some days they tell me that they hate me, that they wish they had a different mommy, or that they are going to "find" a better mommy.  It is times like these I wish I worked full time and could scoot them off to a sitter or have a sitter come in and take care of the tantrums and fits.

All mothers know that there are hard days.  Just like in any job.  There are days you want to throw in the towel and say I give in.  You win.  I just am not cut out for this. 

Just like any other job I have co-workers.  My number one co-worker is my husband.  He is almost always Employee of the Month.  On those hard days I can call him and talk through my discouragements and frustrations.  On those days he tells me that I am doing a great job.  He tells me that the world really isn't coming to an end.  He lets me know that even if Gabe didn't get into the school I wanted him to, Kindergarten will still be a good experience.  He tells me I am beautiful, awesome, and amazing.  He never fails to tell me that he loves me.  He spent hours helping me build my chicken coop, that he swore he wasn't going to touch and swore would be my responsibility.  He is the best partner for me.

As wonderful as my husband is, Mother's Day in the past has not always been what I expected or hoped for.  There have been many years when his plans and my expectation haven't exactly lined up.  Now, don't get me wrong, he has tried, he really has.

This year I wanted there to be no misunderstandings, or disappointments.  I took him to the grocery store with the kids.  While I collected groceries I sent him to pick out a card.  I planned a breakfast that I could put together the night before and all he needed to do was put it in the oven Sunday morning.  I picked up a small bunch of flowers at Winco and put them in a vase.  I picked up a few gifts for myself as well.

When my sister saw that I had planned everything out for Mother's Day for myself she told me I was a control freak.  I simply explained to her that  I am not a control freak I just wanted a Mother's Day that we could all enjoy.  A Mother's day that is relaxed and fun with no hurt feelings, no disappointments.

Let me tell you, this Mother's Day was one of our best!  We were all relaxed and had fun together.  I was so grateful to be a mother.  I was showered with hugs and kisses from my kids.  I heard "I love you mom." consistently throughout the day.  Breakfast was delicious.  Everything turned out great.

I am grateful to be a mom.  I am grateful that I have 2 (mostly) wonderful kids who love me, even when they are telling me that they hate me.  I am grateful to have a wonderful man by my side through it all.  I am grateful to have a wonderful mother who raised me and taught me all I know about mothering.  I am grateful to have "co-workers" in this job of raising children.  I am grateful to be a mother.

  

Spiderman Party!

For Gabe's birthday party we had a Spiderman theme. All of the kids got a Spiderman mask as they came in and we watched an episode of Spiderman and friends. We then played musical chairs with some spiderwebs I printed out and played the Spiderman theme song as the kids went around. We used sticky hands as "webs" to catch balloons with candy inside. Then we read a Spiderman story and opened presents. We had cake and ice cream. For his cupcakes I used a Red Velvet cake mix and a white cake mix that I added blue food coloring to and swirled them together. I piped some chocolate spiderwebs to put on top. I think they turned out really cute. After cake and ice cream we played duck, duck, goose. Instead of duck, duck, goose we said Spiderman, Spiderman, Green Goblin. And a round of Spiderman says (Simon Says). I think that everyone had a good time. We had a total of 12 kids including ours and I was a little worried going in to it but it turned out great!

How strong are you?

Today I was showing off my muscles (or lack thereof) to my kids. Gabe said, "daddy is stronger. Yep, that is because boys are suppose to protect the girls.". Now if he would only put that into practice when it comes to his little sister!

Gabe's Birthday

Gabe being a starfish

For Gabe's Birthday we went to the aquarium. It was the first time that we have been and both kids had a lot of fun. They loved feeding the fish and being able to touch all of the fun creatures. That night we went to Red Robin again. He had a GREAT day!

Birthday Week

Since the kids birthdays are 6 days apart we usually have a combined party with extended family. These kids are spoiled rotten and both of them got a haul this year.

Lydia's Birthday

Lydia turned 3 last week! Every year for their birthdays I make the kids special birthday shirts with their age on them. Lydia chose to go to Red Robin for her birthday dinner. This year I also decided to knit winter hats for both kids. Lydia picked out the purple yarn. On her birthday it snowed here. A LOT! The kids went sledding that afternoon. I still can't believe she is 3!