Muffin Makers

Cami is in baking mode. Once or twice a week she gets the urge to whip up some muffins or brownies (thanks to an ample supply of Jiffy mixes ;). It's been fun watching her. She has come to the point where she doesn't need any assistance. In fact, we had a little friend over today and I was on the phone with my sister in my room. As I come out, I find these two little girls working together on a batch of blueberry muffins. Oven on, muffins in, timer going...Now all they have to do is lick the bowls and wait;). Everyone enjoyed some warm after-school snacks today, thanks to our little muffin makers.

Man's Best Friend

Jeremy's brother Randell has been recently diagnosed with Crohn's disease. It has hit him hard to say the least. Last week he was admitted into the hospital and was told to stay there for about a week, in hopes to give his insides a break. It has been a difficult thing for him to deal with. Last night Gail, Jeremy's mom, drove up from Utah to bring a sweet little joy into Randell's life. His new puppy, Sager. The coolest thing is, that the hospital allows such special visitors to come visit :). Gail sent this picture to me, and I thought it was the sweetest thing. We love you Randell and continually keep you in our prayers. I was also sent this picture by my co-Activity Day's leader ;). Cami has had so much fun being apart of Activity Day's. And the funny part is, that Alex and Carson usually are apart of it too because they just can't seem to hang out long enough in the nursery area :). Anyway, I just wanted this picture up for journal purposes... and because this group picture was way too cute to skip:P. We did a 'Reading Rainbow' activity that day. I loved hearing about every one's favorite books 'Reading Rainbow' style. ;)

All I wanted

So I have officially now turned the big 3-0! Exciting :). Anyway, this year all I wanted was my kitchen painted. I've had the paint for months now, but just haven't gotten the 'umph' to get going and do it. So I told Jeremy not to buy my anything because this is ALL I really wanted for my birthday.

It was originally an almost 'limey' green? More like the double mint gum color :). But anyway, I wanted blue and so Jeremy spent all afternoon and evening painting the kitchen. I love this guy!

And wah-lah! Blue. It's peaceful to me, and in the morning when the light is shining through the windows I feel like I'm breathing in a nice, cool ocean breeze. Ahhhh. Love it! Jer, you're the best!

I was greeted with many birthday wishes and I am always touched by those who make such an effort to do so. It does not go unnoticed or taken for granted. So thank you to everyone who did so!
My sis even came down and stayed the weekend with us. Oh I loved it! We always have so much fun :). On the morning of my b-day, Jer and Jess made cinnamon rolls for the dinner we were going to have later that night at my parents house. It was a great way to start the new decade ;). Thank you to Everyone who made everything so special. Love you all!

Free entertainment

As I was out and about yesterday I saw some kids out in their yards taking advantage of the wind like this:
A stick, some string, and a plastic bag... Bag Kites :). So today, since it was still ridiculously windy, we tried it out today. Quite entertaining :).

Ella Marie

My sister-in-law finally had her baby girl. She is a beauty. Tyler and Crystal, ya' done good :).

She had some blood sugar issues, but Ella Marie is doing great :). Straight from heaven.

On their Way

One of life's challenges is having to say good-bye to people you love and treasure. This weekend has been as such. My brother and his dear sweet family leave tomorrow for Colorado to pursue a new job. We have loved being close to them, watching their little ones grow and have made such good memories with them. They will be missed, and their little ones will grow up way too fast. We wait impatiently for the summer, when we hope to see them again. :)This little guy has melted so many of our hearts here in WA. Mickers. Cami even loves him just as much as us adults. She says we should name Our little boy after him and hopes he's just as cute as little Mic ;).

Brookie, you have no idea how much your sweet n' spicy personality has captured your uncles' heart :).

Kate. I have never known such a lovey, dovey, affectionate little girl such as Kate. Thank you for always being that snuggle bug we always love:).

We will see them soon and hope the best for them!

The one good-bye I had not expected this weekend was the passing away of my grandpa. Robert Christian. He took a fall that escalated into several other complications that brought about his passing. It is not easy for me to write about it, but I do know his genuine love will never be forgotten. Jeremy always talks about how the first time he met Grandpa Christian, he gave Jeremy a BIG hug, and made him feel most welcome into the family. We feel that is exactly how he has been welcomed into heaven. He has touched countless, number of people through his 90 years of life, that has been etched in our hearts forever.

Sometimes she Surprises Me

So last night we had a Relief Society activity in our ward at church. I told the kids to be good for dad and forewarned Jeremy that I wasn't sure when I was going to be back. As I was coming home around 8:30 I was thinking, "Well I shouldn't be too surprised if the kiddos aren't in bed yet." Of course hoping they would be. I came home to a quiet house. Yes! Thank You Jeremy :). I see he's in the kitchen so I walk over to go talk to him. After discussing how the activity went for a bit, Jeremy says, "I don't know how the kids got to bed." Me: "You're kidding me, right?" Jeremy:"No seriously. I told the kids to brush their teeth and do some reading. Then I fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up, they were in bed and asleep." I was baffled. I went to go see if they were really asleep. Alex was conked out. Carson was is in bed. Cami was just coming out of the bathroom. "Cami, did you put everyone to bed??" She then relayed to me the whole story. "I saw that we had been reading for a half an hour. Dad was asleep, I was getting tired, and knew it was time for us to all get to bed." She helped the boys get into bed and tucked them in. She continued: "Alex came to me after awhile and said he couldn't sleep. So I went into his room and moved some pillows around for him and gave him one of his brown stuffed animals and said it was time to go to sleep. Then I knew I had to wait up for you just in case something happened to the house because dad was asleep." She blew me away with the responsibility she took upon herself to do. I couldn't help but wrap my arms around her and say thank you and that I was so proud of her. Last night was an eye opener for me. My little girl is growing up.

Unloaded

I asked Cami to help me entertain Carson while I was helping Alex with something. This was her choice of activity... Every bin was full of toys. First reaction: "What??! You realize you have to pick up Every toy without my help right?" Kids: Beaming smiles: "We know!" Second reaction: Thinking to myself "Just go shut the doors so you don't have to see it" ;). Third reaction: Laugh to myself and just went to grab the camera instead. They are adding more as I type, haha. You gotta love little kiddos. Which I do. Even when having them means signing your name up for mess n' stress sometimes, haha... worth it;).

V-Day

As I have gotten older, not that I'm all that old, but with time I've come to realize it's the simple things that I enjoy the most and make all the difference. We were touched by loved ones who sent cards and shared sweet treats with us. Jeremy got Cami and I some flowers, which every girl loves ;). I went to Alex's Valentine's party and ate lunch with Cami at school. We had a candle light dinner, (tea candles don't give off the best light... but that's all I found, haha ;), and had chicken fajitas. Valentine's day is a day of Love, and it was felt and shared today.

Last night Jeremy and Cami gave a lesson on etiquette for FHE. Perfect for the holiday.... and we probably shouldn't have had the boys on the table. It was a fun night. And I realized how much I Really did not know about proper table setting. Lol. But we don't normally use 4 spoons, 4forks, 2 knives, 3 cups and 2 plates. It was good to learn anyway ;).

Monumental

This is mainly for my own records, but today Carson made a big step. I've been trying for months now to get Carson to draw/color on his own. He doesn't like having the color outside the lines and he doesn't like to try to even draw things because he knows it'll look right when someone else does it. Even his primary teachers were having to color his pictures in class because he insisted they do it. But on Sunday he came back with a picture he colored all on his own... wow, I was shocked to say the least, and happy of course. :0) Then today Carson and I were at the table and I brought out some paper and markers. I don't know if it was the markers, (because we usually use crayons to keep the mess down;) or if it was because I was sitting down right next to him, encouraging him on and boosting his confidence with every line he put on the paper, haha... but he drew today all by himself. And that is big to me, and very exciting :). Maybe he might take more interest in having coloring time now.This part of the paper was my favorite because he drew Captain America, lol. Oh I love it! He drew his shield kind of by accident and then created the rest of the character all on his own. This has made my day. So simple, but awesome :).

Cheer and Wrestling

We've had the opportunity before but never have chosen to participate. But this year Cami really wanted to do the cheer camp here in town. And she had a blast. I got a kick out of watching her perform because she reminded me of Sandra Bullock off of 'Miss Congeniality', when Sandra was trying to keep up with all the other girls on the dance number while practicing. Such a hoot :). I got a quick pic before we headed to the game.
And Alex got some Father-Son time this weekend. Jeremy helps out with coaching the wrestling team in our neighboring town, and this weekend was districts out of town. So him and Alex had the weekend together. Alex Loves hanging with his dad. Jer sent this picture while relaxing in their motel room.

Most Nights

I love boys and their natural tendency to by active. I think my favorite thing these days is when the boys get going at night before bed. They grab a basketball and contend with each other, or a football and tackle one another, or even put on one of the inflatable boxing gloves and go at it. This is when I see the boys most interactive with each other and in a positive way. Alex is careful with Carson and Carson is okay with losing to his big brother, haha. It really is too cute. In just a couple of years there will be another little, macho contender to get in on the action;).
I think they're pooped :)

Home Sweet Home

She's home! It feels so good to have Cami back home. She brought each of us a little gift from Hawaii and we loved hearing stories, watching videos, and looking at pictures. I'm glad she had so much fun, but I'm more glad I have my little girl back safe n sound w/ sun-made highlights in her hair and a new swim suit tan line ;).Here are some pictures we got via cell phone from my parents during the week: (We requested daily pictures and phone calls from them ;).Hula dancingThey had their fair share of snow cones. Perfect for warm days :)They even got an upclose encounter with some sea turtles!They lived in the water while in HawaiiOn Alex's birthday they sang happy birthday and ate snow cones in honor of Alex ;)When Cami came home she was surprised at how much bigger my belly has been getting. I've been telling myself to get a picture of it for documentation, so Jeremy snapped a shot of the budda belly. I'm getting big fast... bigger than I normally do, or at least that's what I feel like ;). The joys of pregnancy. 15 more weeks left and probably double the size.. yikes! ;)

Alex's Big Day

Yep, Alex turned 6 :). This kid can melt my heart ya' know. On Cami's 7th birthday, Grandma Elli had made her a beautiful birthday cake that Alex helped make. And his birthday wishes some day were for Grandma Elli to do the same for him. So that's just what she did. When we told Alex Grandma booked a flight just to be here for his birthday, he knew this was the best present of all! She got here the day before his birthday, and the moment he stepped in the door and saw Grandma Elli here, he went straight to the kitchen and got ready to make his cake with Grandma :). The cutest part was, was that he had already drawn out how he wanted his cake. Haha, I really wish I got a picture of it, but I had thrown it away before I thought to do that.

Alex and Grandma getting the fondant ready... his favorite part :).We also thought to make a classroom birthday treat for school. And since he is SO into pokemon these days, we made pokemon balls out of rice krispie treats.After Alex went to bed, we set out some decorations and posters Grandma printed out for him to put all over the ways... pokemon oriented of course ;).Putting the cake together... well the first layer. Now it was midnight when we got started on putting the cake together. But alas, my tiredness set in and Gail insisted on us going to sleep. She stayed up until 3 am so Alex could see it in the morning! Bless her heart! Jer and I tried to convince her to just finish it tomorrow morning, but she wanted (and knew Alex would love), to see the finale once he woke up. He was pretty excited.She had this little note for Alex when he woke up.He LOVED his cake! A pokemon battle arena w/ stadium seating and an audience to cheer the pokemon on... it was awesome!Grandma Elli always gets my kids the cutest clothes, so we had him open up some birthday clothes before he went to school. Haha, he felt pretty cool in his new stuff.Oh, and he had me take a picture of him in front of one of his birthday pictures Grandma printed off for him. ;)I had asked Alex if he just wanted to take the pokemon balls in his back pack to school and hand out when it was time... but he wanted me there. So at lunch time, Carson and I came to visit Alex at school.I had not thought of bringing something for Carson to eat, dumb of me, but Alex willingly shared. Then he handed out his goodies after they sang Happy Birthday to him. I had to laugh because once the kids got the balls, they started rolling them and bouncing them... lol, the substitute teacher was looking a little stressed when all the pokemon balls were coming to action. Haha, whoops! (Maybe just cupcakes next time;).Later that night we invited family and his old friend Olivia to Chucky Cheese that night for cake and games. A child's dream, "Where a Kid can be a Kid!" I'm kicking myself because I didn't get a proper picture with all the kiddos and family around him....

Time for cake and presents :)Haha, of course he wants the middleGail was trying to get a few shots with me in it with Alex and finally told me what she was trying to do and was feeling unsuccessful... lol, so I gave her my best ;)Haha, well maybe this is better ;) Alex, loved all his toys. I love watching Alex open his presents, because he doesn't rush through them all. He opens it and carefully exams each one wishing he could use it right there and then.Oh we were at Chucky Cheese way too late, we were even the last one's out of the place. Alex and the kids had so much fun though. He used most of his coins on this one arcade unit. Oh the thrills :) Happy Birthday Alex, we sure love you!