Merry Christmas

Here are the three greatest Christmas presents a mom could ask for. Christmas was magic for these little boys this year.

From left to right, Jax, Alex, and AJ, after presents, Christmas morning.

The newest cousin!

Here's the newest addition to the family. Congrats to Danny and Patrice and family! (Glad he came at 36 weeks instead of 32! Way to hang in there, mom!)

Chase Timothy

Cute little funny face that he's pulling, huh? Love it!

New Moon

Phew! We wanted to go with a big group... So we rented a theater. We worked our tails off. We spent HOURS. We gathered tons of cool prizes! We stressed, worked, collected money, and worked some more! We had NO time for pictures. We LOVED the movie, thank heavens! We went home and crashed.

Thanks, Elisha, for being a great partner in crime!

(Isn't she gorgeous!? our only picture from the whole night...)

Silly Boys

These boys of mine... They love dress-up as much as a girl! The next door neighbor girl came over to play with Alex one afternoon. AJ and Jax immediately had to try on her pink coat and pink shoes. Sillies.

Halloween

Happy Halloween, and Happy Birthday to Gma B!

It's that time again...

I know it's a bit early to be thinking of Christmas, but it's time to register for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. Now!! Go to www.lds.org/events to sign up!

And to get you excited, here's a clip from last year. This still brings me to tears. I loooove it!

Monster Mash...

Because my kids watched Sherine's video no less than 10 times... I decided to make one of our own....

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Thank you, Lawrence Welk

Thanks to this man,

this little man was entertained for a whole hour!(This is my wanderer child... the one that doesn't hold still for more than a few minutes. The combination of stomach flu and Lawrence Welk made for a quiet afternoon!)

Firemen!

The church across the street from our house has a huge grassy field. Once a month or so, the local firemen head over there to check their hoses and do whatever it is they do to prep their truck. Well, Saturday, they let the neighbors bring their kids over to ride on their ladder. Our boys were in heaven! Afterwards, they sprayed their hoses and let the kids run around in the water. Good times!

First Day of School

September 8th was Alex's first day of preschool. The crying started a week ago. My poor, highly anxious little boy was not excited. By the morning the crying had turned to anger. "You can't make me go! I'll run away first! I don't want to go to school!"

After I chased him around the house and carried him, kicking and screaming, to the car, he gave in and wimpered the whole way there. He finally said, "But mom, I don't know what Miss Martha's voice sounds like." Then the crocodile tears started. Man... breaks my heart to make him so uncomfortable. But, I know that he needs to be stretched to learn and grow. So tears or not... he was going to school.

He managed to fake a smile long enough for a quick picture, then he stood at her window in tears and waved goodbye to mama.

Of course he was fine, and when I returned to pick him up he said, "You're here already? I don't want to go home!" But the shenanigans continued for the next couple of days.

I guess a part of me is glad that he loves and misses his mommy. Another part of me wishes he was an independent kid that wasn't so fearful. But, he's improved leaps and bounds from a year ago and I know he'll just continue to improve. I'm kind of tearful that someone else gets to spend so much time with my little boy. I want him under my roof, in my arms where I know he's safe and loved. sigh... My baby is growing up, and I'm not quite ready!

Bikes!

I finally buckled down and spent some money on bikes. I had checked DI and Kid-to-Kid, but didn't haven any luck. So, I purchased some bikes, sat down and assembled, and let the good times roll. Best money I've spent all year. The boys are in heaven!

Our August

August was such a fun and busy month! I love having kids that are old enough to take places and do fun things. I'm definitely a "summer mom." Hitting September and schedules has been an adjustment. I love the lazy days of summer.

Near the end of August, I flew to Atlanta with my brother, Danny, and we officially picked up my parents from their mission. We sent them home on a plane, and Danny and I made a cross-country drive with their car and their possessions. It was... long. :) But fun!

Then we had a large family reunion on my mom's side, and a farewell for my niece, Amberlee who left to the California, Carlsbad mission, Spanish speaking.

Along with that, here are some of our other highlights:

Lagoon. It was AUGUST, and we were wearing long pants, and jackets by evening. Remember that one cold Saturday? PERFECT Lagoon weather. Of course we went a couple of weeks later for Bounceback too!

Park City: Family, pizza, and the mountain. It was a blast!

We heart cousins!

To prevent mom from getting mad when I sneak into the refrigerator, I just need to share with my brother. Mom will think it's so cute, she can't get mad!

Alex sent his first e-mail to his "best friend," John. This is what he sent:

SURPRISE!!!

Can you see who's in this blurry picture??!!! The lady in red with her hand over her mouth in excitement, and the cute man behind her with the tucked-head grin....?

I got the BEST surprise ever! My Mom and Dad are HOME!!!!! (sort of...)

Man, I cried my eyes out!

Our family got a surprise e-mail a couple of nights ago. My parents announced they were being released early (2 1/2 weeks early) from their mission to come home for my niece's wedding. The catch: They're going back in two days. They still need to train the couple that is replacing them, but they'll be going back as "volunteers" instead of official missionaries.

Oh, but I'll take what I can get. I am the biggest mamma's girl that ever existed. I don't know how I survived 18 months without them, but getting just a small taste of having them back is going to make the next 2 1/2 weeks sooo long. Yeah! Oh, if I could just put my elation into words...!

I love this pic of my dad. (I know my sister, Kim, is blurry, but look at cute Joe. He's almost got the "ugly cry" face on he's so happy!)

Alex was so sweet. He had such a special bond with G'ma. He turned 3 just a couple of days before she left, so I didn't know how much he'd really remember her or how much he adored her. (He much preferred her to anyone else, including me, at the time.) HA. Like I needed to worry. He wouldn't let her out of sight. He clung to her hand the minute she offered it, and he was permanently attached to her hip from that point on. It was so adorable. He drove with her to visit some family, and then he finally had to say goodbye. He was so heartbroken. He just sobbed and sobbed, "I want my Grandma. I want my Grandma. When do I get to see her again? Why can't I go with her to the wedding?" He'd quiet down for a minute, then just break out in a big wail of "Grandma! I want my Grandma!"

She was so kind to make a special trip to our house (even though she was running late and had no time) to come and give him a big hug. He had the biggest grin from ear to ear. Man, I just love that lady! Anyway, he's calmed down a bit now, but he still keeps asking me, "When do I get to see my Grandma? When I see her at the wedding party (reception) I'm going to stay with her the whole time, okay, Mom?"

Okay, son. I missed her too. In fact, I think I'll hang out with you two, if that's okay. :)

Welcome home, guys. Even if it's just for two days.

First Hike

I took the boys on their first ever hike with the help of "Auntie" Heidi. They loved it. As I type, they've been zonked for 3 hours now!

We took the simple route and went to Donut Falls. This is a great first hike for anyone with little, little kids. We immediately started with some skinned knees. But they got the hang of it. We ended with some tears and "hold you," as Jackson got tired. But little AJ was a trooper and walked the whole entire way, up and down. Alex was way ahead prodding us to "hurry up!" It was a lot of fun!

Some highlights:

AJ, Heidi, and Heidi's "service animal" pooch, Jackson. Best behaved dog you'll ever meet.

Some of our fun moments and pretty wildflowers:

The Falls!

The log:The glasses. So vogue: