Not My Intentions

I just have to say that when I sat down to write my last post I had no intention on getting all sappy. That has been happening a lot to me lately, maybe I am going crazy. Or maybe I just need time to reflect once in a while. Either way, here is a post that is just for fun :)Preston is my little skater dude. Actually I think he is better suited for a surfer dude! He should have been born into a family that lived on the coast. He loves to skateboard and fights with his big brother for the scooter. He asked for a skateboard for Christmas and when he asked the first time Josh and I just looked at eachother and laughed. But he never let it go, when anyone asked him what he wanted he told them a skateboard and a helicopter. (He dreams big I guess)
Don't you just love it when the moment you sit down to do something at the computer the kids' sensor seems to go off and they must come and insist on your attention. Aubrey's sensor is VERY fine tuned! She has even discovered a way to climb up onto the desk and plop herself right on the keyboard. I think she might be giving me a hint!
These two have been playing so well together lately! Once in a while Preston gets a little too dominating and I have to remind him to play nice, but for the most part these two crack me up. I brought the basketball hoop inside the other day and it was a hit. Preston didn't let me take it back outside until I convinced him that it was nice enough out that he could play with it outside again.
Oh my little Kendra! She is so grown up these days. She has been facing problems lately that I distinctly remember going through when I was young. It breaks my heart and on Sunday we had a good cry together. Somehow that seems to make everything better.
I started working out daily about 1 1/2 months ago. I feel amazing, but haven't really lost any weight (which really sucks!) But one evening Josh and I went to the Y together. We dropped all four of our children off at child watch (free daycare at the Y WOO HOO) and had a date on the track. It was super fun, I think I am beginning to get a little addicted to working out. Anyways, I kicked Josh's butt :) That is definitely a first for me and gave me just a little more confidence. After that Josh started working out on his lunch hour whenever he had the chance (I wonder why?) We went on another workout date Saturday morning and he almost caught me this time, I guess I am going to have to step it up a little.

Ethan is in his last week of baseball and this is also their last week of school. I could use another week or two myself. I don't feel ready AT ALL! But I guess I don't have much of a choice and I am sure that we will have a great summer.

I Give Up

I always say that I will do (fill in the blank) as soon as things calm down. I have finally come to the realization that things are never going to calm down for me. This is the life Josh and I chose when we decided that our family wouldn't be complete without four special spirits. A life of sinks full of dirty dishes, bathrooms waiting to be scrubbed, cars that you don't dare let people outside the family see inside, constant going, un-made beds, fridges always in need of milk or eggs, laundry piled precariously high, snotty noses, cries for mommy. It never ends, my list could go on all day long. I get frustrated at my list sometimes and then I see pictures like the one below. And I stop. This is what life is all about, this is why we are here. To be parents, to have a glimmer of insight as to what our Father in Heaven feels for us. I know that being a mom is the greatest job in the entire world. I love my little snotty nosed children and even when my days are filled with what other people would look down on I know I am where my Father wants me to be. Each child of mine is unique and special. Each one makes me smile and laugh in a different way. They also each make me angry and frustrated in their own way too. I am their lifeline, I am the one to nurture them and to help them grow up to be good, contributing citizens. I am there to help them become parents and spouses themselves. We are our children's greatest examples. It is a big job, but I wouldn't want anyone else to do it, these kids need ME! And let's face it, I need them just as much.

Top Ten

It won't let me drag the pictures to the bottom so you are going to have to enjoy the pictures first, sorry.
We acted silly A LOT!
Yup, we had to take the group picture first thing in the morning because Julie was headed out of town to Alabama with her hubby for the summer. So my mom Julie are the only ones that had showered.
Nicole was not a big fan of the Cafe Rio. Maybe next time sister.

As some of you may know my mother recently celebrated a big milestone, she turned the big 6-0!!! To celebrate we had a girls weekend in Park City, Utah. It was a central location for everyone and my cousin was able to get use of her friend's condo. We left on Thursday and got home Sunday. I have never taken a girls weekend before and I have never left Preston or Aubrey for more than a day. It was super fun and I was SO excited that I got to see me sisters (I only see Julie and Amy once or twice a year!) I had also never even met my nephew who is NINE months old. Yes, it had been that long. So we had a blast shopping, getting massages, eating, and just visiting. Amy brought her two little ones with her since she lives so far away and no one gets to see them often enough. I kinda wish that I had brought Aubrey but it was well worth it to have a weekend where I didn't have to worry about naps, feeding, and everything else. I got to help my sister as much as I could and came home ready to enjoy my own chillins a little more. I learned a lot while on my trip so I am going to give you the top ten things that I learned.

10. I love Cafe Rio! I had been skeptical after the first time I had it, but now I CRAVE IT!!! I tried a variety of things and it was all yummy. I am now officially on the Cafe Rio band wagon.

9. Boutiques are inspiring, we were able to go through a whole bunch of boutiques in downtown Park City and also really close to where our condo was. They had the coolest stuff and I found lots of cool things to try and copy :) My mom also found a really fun bag that we ended up surprising her with for her birthday.

8. My older sister is crabby when she is tired. Oh wait, I should say that she STILL gets crabby when she is tired. I remember when we were all at home still it was a well known fact that if Nicole (and Amy too actually) was tired then you need to stay away! Not much has changed :) No one is real fun to be around when they are tired. I found myself the last one to go to bed each night. I am not sure what got into me but I was always ready for more fun late at night and then I was just about the first one up in the morning. I guess the kids take more energy out of me that I thought. At least that is the only conclusion that I have come to.

7. My sisters are terrible liars. When we were at the shops by our condo we decided to chip in and get my mom the bag she had found as a birthday present. We gathered the funds from everyone without my mom noticing and then sent Nicole off to get the bag. My mom notices that Nicole is missing and asks Julie and Amy where she went. They just kind of look at each other and go, "I don't know." Of course that set off bells and whistles in mom's head because Nicole doesn't just take off, especially when shopping. So yeah, we had quite the extravagant cover up after that which ended up with me running after Nicole and sneaking into the Bed Bath and Beyond. OH BOY!

6. I have awesome friends who stepped in to watch my sweet children. I split them up so no one would be overwhelmed. Kendra and Ethan walked home with friends after school and didn't stop talking about how much fun they had. Even when I called home all Ethan could do was talk about wanting to go back. My brother-in-law helped me out too and Preston and Aubrey may have convinced him that he doesn't want any more children :) I am thankful to everyone!

5. Josh can manage just fine without me. I was worried about leaving, VERY WORRIED. I prepared meals for them beforehand for every dinner that I would be gone and made sure that every bag was packed and the fridge stocked. I guess I just didn't want Josh to feel overwhelmed while I went gallivanting off to Utah. No one was injured and Josh survived and harbors no ill feelings :)

4. I have the cutest little niece of nephew. Presleigh was so sweet the whole time and just as funny as could be! She definitely has a thing with shoes and when Amy got her a new pair of baby blue patent leather slip ons complete with a big blue rhinestone on the toe she told everyone she met about her new Cinderella shoes. She wouldn't go anywhere without them! And Noah was just happy, I am sure Amy is grateful to have a happy and content baby because Presleigh was quite the handful. And I have to add that being called "Auntie Kim" is awesome.

3. Traveling nine hours in the car is WONDERFUL without kids. I had the most enjoyable drive to Utah that I have ever had. We were squished in a Buick Rendevous with my mom, aunt, grandma, nicole, and I and I didn't mind a bit. Yes we were uncomfortable, and yes we stopped A LOT (more than when we have kids with us I think.) But it was still relaxing and enjoyable. I didn't have to worry about keeping anyone fed, happy, quiet, or anything! It made such a difference. Just quite time, I think I need more of that.

2. I miss my sisters.....A LOT

1. I have a wonderful mom who has devoted her life to raising her family. I am thankful for all that she has taught me. I had a great childhood and have her to thank for that. I am lucky to live to close to her, to be able to have her be such an important part of my children's lives and to be able to see her just about any time that I want. I LOVE YOU MOM! Thanks for turning 60 so that we could have such an amazing weekend together.

One semester down, so many more to go

Well today marked the end of my first semester back in college. I am super excited to be done, but sad to not be learning anything new over the summer. I guess I can look forward to the endocrine system and much more in the fall. For now I am ready to enjoy the warmth that we have had lately. Here is Ethan before his very last basketball game. He has now moved on to baseball and is loving it. Ethan is so full of energy, he loves to be outside and just GOES! He isn't hyper or crazy just HAPPY. He seems to have a special ability to just enjoy himself in whatever he is doing. School, sports, singing, it doesn't matter, to him everything deserves his best effort. I love this little boy. His disposition and intelligence are going to take him so far in life. I am lucky to be a mom.
Oh Preston! He is BUSY! He is so independent, he likes to do everything on his own. If it is his idea then he will do it, if not then you better have some good persuasion skills and be ready for a squeal or two or more. About a month ago he really started talking, I mean TALKING! He hasn't quit since. For instance this morning when I picked him up at my cousin's house after my last final Abby, my cousin's daughter, and Preston were watching Team UmiZoomi and Preston was trying to get her to "go to the party" with him. He just kept telling her what they needed to do and was using the area behind the couch as their vehicle. And anything that was happening in the show he was acting out like it was happening to him. Blossoming, that is what he is doing. He is blossoming into a full fledged big boy. I am not ready for him to grow up but I am sure enjoying his antics. Everyday he makes me laugh! Oh yeah, and he is ALWAYS dirty. I think he has as much laundry as Kendra and Ethan combined! And his face LOVES messes!
My little baby, I can't believe how you've grown. Aubrey has a strong personality, as all of my children do. She loves her siblings, but seems to be taking a beating from them lately. I am always finding new scratches or bruises on her. I know that Preston contributes to those mysterious marks, but she gets plenty on her own as well. She understands incredibly well. Sometimes she puts me in awe with what she can understand. She is always carrying around a doll and usually has them wrapped up in whatever she can find, yesterday it happened to be a pair of Preston's underwear.I had to take a picture of Kendra's new haircut. This has to be one of the best decisions that I have ever made. No more tears, no more fights, and so much easier and cuter too! She is bossy one my little Kendra. Always has to have her nose in everyone else's business. But we know that she does it out of love, she is definitely full of love for her family. She is a born leader and so fun, I love having her as my oldest. The other day we painted our toes and fingernails together SO FUN! I love my kiddos

And I love this man, the man who gave me such beautiful children and such a wonderful life. THANK YOU JOSHUA!

Aubrey's First Birthday Pictures

I am so excited to share these pictures with you. I am just giddy with how they turned out. It was pretty cold out so Aubrey was a trooper. Towards the end she was done but we ended with a big ol lollipop so she was happy....and sticky!

She loved this chair so much that when we wanted her to just stand she would start running for the chair laughing and giggling the entire way of course. It made it pretty difficult.
She squinted her eyes a lot and wouldn't give the camera her big smile but that's ok.

She actually left her bows and flowers alone the entire time, what a miracle. She was probably too cold to even care.
Aubrey loves sweets, just like her momma. I can't even convey how much she likes them. A while back I got an awesome deal on fruit snacks and got them for .10 a box (I love coupons!) So I got like 40 boxes or something crazy like that and Aubrey is now obsessed! She knows that they are in the storage room and she will scream at the door. If she sees them she tries her hardest to jump up and down and she screams and squeals in excitement. It is just about the funniest thing you will ever see. Easter was even worse. She loved her basket and spent all day scrounging up what candy she could find on the floor or within arms reach. And if that didn't work she would take it out of other children's hands or scream until someone satisfied her want for candy. OH MY GOODNESS! It was a long day all around.

I love this look on her face. She gets SO excited over things. Lately she has added the feet and arms into her excitement. Stomping her feet and waving her arms or attempting to get both of her feet off of the ground at once.
SO SWEET! You can find the photographer here I had a hard time finding what I was looking for here in Billings, but Christy was awesome! I can't wait to get the family pictures taken when things calm down and I am finished with my semester and basketball is finally over.

Neglected

In all of my haste to get my spring bags listed and my shop blog updated I have yet again neglected my family blog. Sorry! I found my camera yesterday and did the happy dance. It had fallen behind some boxes in the office/craft room. I know, it serves me right for not keeping this room cleaner. But now I have it safely tucked into my bag so that I can fill it up with fun pictures of my children :) I had Aubrey's pictures taken for her first birthday about a month ago (yup that is how behind I am) and can't wait to get them back. I also wanted to share with everyone a new creative blog that I think is going to be amazing, it is www.kikicreates.blogspot.com go and check it out. She is going to be doing a giveaway soon and she just opened up an etsy shop full of cute things. I just love cute :)

We are starting the baseball adventure again. Ethan has his first practice today and I am not sure if I am ready. At least his practices are going to be at the kids' elementary school which is super close. Kendra is still loving her hair and no longer throws a fit when I have to comb it. I think that her favorite part is probably that she gets lots of comments, that girl loves attention. She seems to be growing up at lightning speed. Can't she just stay a little girl forever? Aubrey has been very communicative lately. She yells, and grunts, and screams while she points in order to let you know what it is that she wants. She is quite effective but very VERY LOUD! And when you get her and Preston in a room together you might as well put in some earplugs. My sweet and wonderful cousin has been watching the children for me while I am in class and she has definitely learned what loud means. :) Well I hear Aubrey in the next room so I better go and get her. When I started this post I thought I had some recent pictures to go along with it, apparently not. Next time.

Look pictures!

I finally got my memory card to work so I was able to get my pictures off it. I have been experimenting with my cricut. The other day as I was cleaning out Aubrey's clothes I found some onesies that were crying out to be created into something new and cute. The first one I put an umbrella on the bum and a pair of rain boots on the front.

And on the other one I put a ladybug on the front and experimented with the two layers. They turned out super cute. I did one more with an owl that had a few layers also, I just forgot to take pictures of it before I passed these onesies onto a friend.

I know that I have said this so many times but my baby girl loves to eat. Every time we sit down for a meal we all laugh at Aubrey at some point. Usually it is because of the way she devours her food.
I remembered to take the camera to swimming lessons one day. Here is Preston with his teacher Miss Lena. He was actually really good this day and did a bob and jumped in too!
We got Kendra's hair cut this weekend and it is wonderful. I will make sure to take some pictures.
Ethan is loving swimming! He actually doesn't do well with the kickboards. He needs to work on his kicks but has the arms down on most strokes.
I forgot that I had taken this picture of Kendra so this will make for a good "before" picture.
The other day Josh and Ethan ended up coming down to the kitchen dressed alike. I couldn't help but take a picture of my handsome men!