Snowy Days!

Utah is notorious for strange weather. This winter has been especially strange. We have had snow.... melt....snow.... melt. The snow just doesn't stick around long enough to enjoy. It falls and messes up the commute and makes things wet and slippery, but we had a hard time finding the right kind of snow for a snowman. So, we made a snow slide instead. It was cold! But it was fun! 

 

 

 

 

 

So, my last blog post was over 1 year ago. I don't have a good excuse, so I won't give one. We are doing great! Our three little monkeys are growing like weeds! The more days that pass by, the further in love we fall with them. We are so grateful for fun memories of 2012.

Cali turned 6, finished Kindergarten. Dylan turned 4, and Hunter turned 3. Dylan and Hunter have successfully learned their colors and we are working on letters and writing names. It has been entertaining.

We took a family vacation to California. We stayed in Newport, but made our way to San Diego. The kids had a blast! It was so fun to see their excitement to see "fishies from the ocean" and meet all their Disney friends. We felt extra lucky to have grandma with us.

Here are a few pictures of our adventures. The kids stepped in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. They loved playing in the sand. There was sand EVERYWHERE!

California Adventures was perfect! The characters were easy to find. Dylan was so excited to meet goofy!

We visited Sea World, Disneyland, and California Adventures. The kids talk about Splash Mountain all the time. I don't know if its because they loved the ride or if just scared them enough, they can't forget! It was a great week! We loved having grandma with us.

 

 

I feel so lucky to have my fun little kids. They make life so much fun! In October I was able to quit my job. I enjoyed my time at Deseret First and am grateful for the many things my time there taught me. I learned alot about managment, money, credit, and time management. Most importanly, I met some wonderful people. That being said, I am grateful for my new life. I now spend my days playing dinosaurs, cars, Barbies, reading stories, playing with playdough, coloring, and taking on whatever adventure the day presents. It is so nice to be just mommy.                                                                   

 

My kids are awesome to humor me with photo sessions. Here are a couple of our Christmas pics

 

And there you have it... A picture of my whole world! I love you guys!

 

 

Fall and Haloween Fun!

 This fall we visited the farmer's market where we got lots of fresh fruit and veggies. Hunter LOVES watermelon. Dylan and Cali liked the apples. We went with my parents to the sheepdog show. It was actually quite cool. Hunter kept yelling for the sheepdogs to "go...go...go...puppy...go...go..go" And of course he made several growls. Any animal that he passes gets growled at. That is why his costume this year was so easy to pick out. He has the growl down!

 

 So, Rhen and I have decided that EVERYTHING is more fun with kids. Halloween is not my favorite holiday, but this year seeing my kids so excited about it all made every minute worth it. Luckily Rhen's dad loves taking little monsters around trick-or-treating... The kids had a blast. I think they ate more sugar in one week than they have the whole time they have lived at our house.

Hunter as a lion...."Roar..."

Cali and her cousins all dressed like cats.

Go Utes! Unless you're Hunter...

The boys at Wheeler Farm

Cute little Emily....

We  had to work in the princess some how...

Bradle as Woody

Cali and Aubree spent the day with my mom. They had so much fun. They are a hoot when they get together.

We decorated sugar cookies, made carameled apples, carved pumpkins, dressed up, and talked about monsters all month long! Rhen's parents took the kids to the pumpkin patch and they have talked about every day since. They have loved the festivities. I feel so blessed to have such fun grandparents for my little ghouls!

Kindergarten ALREADY!!!!

                          
Cali started school today! She was super excited for her first day. She has had her clothes picked out for several days now and changed her desired hair-do many times. She is adorable! I can't wait to hear about all of her fun Kindergarten stories. Cali loves reading. She loves to sing and dance and is 100% diva! She is very helpful and is 5 going on 20! She always tells us how she wants to be a grown up. We keep begging her not to grow up, but I don't think we will get our way on this one. We love Cali girl and can't wait for her to learn how to read... then she can read us bedtime stories!

Happy Birthday Dylan!!!!

August 1st was Dylan's Birthday. He was so excited for his special day. He requested a "Cars Birthday". We did our very best to make it as "carzy" as possible. He was pampered from morning to night. On Monday's Grandma "Sunna" (Missy's mom) babysits the kids. Dylan was lucky enough to have his birthday fall on such a day. He started with opening presents, then a yummy breakfast, a shopping trip to buy a cars backpack, then to visit mommy at work, out to lunch at McDonald's (his favorite place to eat), a quick nap for an energy recharge and a birthday party to be remembered. Thanks grandma "Sunna" for making Dylan's birthday a special day all day long.

His party was awesome! Dylan felt very loved! Both grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, cousins, and four great grandparents attended the big event. Dylan was feeling pretty on top of the world.

 We told Dylan our big goal for #3 is to use the big potty so he can be ready for pre-school. He has made some good progress in this department so we have high hopes.

  

We love our little Dylan and look forward to seeing what year number three has in store. We can honestly say that he brings a lot of joy into our lives. He has the cutest personality and the most adorable smile. He keeps us entertained, on our toes, and rolling in laughs. We love you Dylan!

Aunt Alyssa makes the most fabulous birthday cakes. I have always hoped that I would magically become more creative and could make my kids fun birthday cakes too! The talent has not arrived, but Aunt Alyssa did.... She moved back from California and can make my kids fun birthday cakes. Dylan thought this was awesome! The fun cars on top are bath cars. Dylan will get lots of use out of them. He loves bathtime! The trick will be getting him to share with Hunter. Thanks Aunt Alyssa! You really made his cars birthday!

We don't love the BYU shirt that Uncle Tyler snuck in, but Dylan loves his grandpa and Uncle Tyler and I am sure they will get some games in... and Dyaln will need a shirt to blend in...even if he does secretly wish his blue was red!

A little Update.... Better late than never!

I always told everyone that I would blog once I had children to take pictures of and blog about. The joke is on me.... now that I have kids, I don't have the time to blog! I apologize for not posting more regularly. I FINALLY finished school, so I will have a little more time to dedicate to updates. I won't make promises, but I will certainly try! I posted a little slideshow of some of our summer fun. There are not a ton of pictures of Huner. It is a little difficult to catch him.

Cali has had so much happen since she joined our family. She learned how to tie her shoes. She lost her first tooth. She learned how to write her new last name. She starts Kindergarten this week. She met her new teacher... and most importantly had her first major shopping trip with mommy! Rhen is a little bit scared of the habits I might teach her! I am really good at shopping! Cali loves her grandmas! She loves to learn and she loves helping mommy cook dinner.

Dylan is turning 3 tomorrow! (I promise to take birthday pictures and post them promptly). He has been so excited about his birthday. It has worked out really nicely. Everytime he starts getting stubborn or doesn't want to share, we remind him that he needs to practice being the birthday. He has requested a Cars birthday. If you ask him what exciting event is coming soon he will reply, "My CARS birthday!!!!" He says the funniest things. He really likes to tease his mommy.

Hunter is so much fun. He is learning to say a bunch of new words. He says... haiw (hair) Luyu (Love you) No no no (he hears that alot) Daddy, Mommy, Cowi (Cali), Baw (ball), In da sky (airplane), down, out, doggy, gamma, peas (please) Danx (Thanks)... I could go on and on... His little voice is so cute. He loves to be tickled. He loves to run around. He loves his daddy (who he often calls mommy). He has a fun laugh and is full of energy.

We have had a blast! Rhen and I are exhausted, but have never had so much fun. We could never have imagined loving our kids so much. We love to snuggle with them. We love to hear them laugh. We love their little hugs and kisses and the funny things they say. We wake up every morning just wondering what the new day will bring. We definitely believe this is our happily ever after!

Summer Fun!

Summer2011 - free slideshow maker