Nuttin' For Christmas, 2012

Merry Christmas!  From our family to yours!

California Dreamin'

Thanks to Mark's sister and her husband for their incredible hospitality!  We had a fun week visiting our cousins in California.  Our kids and their kids are all the same age (even twins the same age as our twins!), so the kids were in cousin heaven.  We hope to be able to do it again in a couple of years!

Miles turns 2!

Holy moly... How did he get to be 2? And he thinks he's going on 7. He's so determined to keep up with his big brothers. This kid as a.t.t.i.t.u.d.e.! He definitely knows what he wants, and has no shortage of personality. I couldn't get a normal picture because he insists on saying, "Cheeeeeese!" Oh well... we sure do love him! Happy Birthday, Miles!

Scooter!

 Surprise pony ride... Just had a cute neighbor girl who happened to come by with her pony!

 More pony loveliness... Or a "neigh...!" as Miles called it.

Grandpa B's Birthday!

Grandpa B turned 81 this month!  We sure love him!

Preschool Graduation

The boys graduated from preschool.  They sure loved Miss Diane and Miss Julie.  It was a fun year, and they even got to attend with their cousin, Tyler!

Birthdays

The twins turned 5 in April!

Mark turned... uh... 26?  again?

I'm pretty sure I have the cutest boys, evuh!

Mark's Lake Powell Adventure.

Mark dislocated and broke his hip while waterskiing in Lake Powell... Here are some pics from the event.  He's currently still on short-term disability because he can't sit for very long.  His MRI results are back, and things don't look too great right now... We're hoping and praying he doesn't need a hip replacement anytime soon (although he'll most likely have one sometime in his lifetime).


This was from the loooong boatride back to the marina.  Gettin' him out of the water was NOT a fun experience.

 The waiting ambulance.

The waiting helicopter pilot to take him to Price.

Loading onto the helicopter.

More loading...

Me trying to be smiley, despite the fact that my kid-free vacation was ruined... er... I mean despite the fact that my husband was injured. :)

Fun times!

Some Pics

Money Man wearing his big brother's shoes...

Alex at Strawberry Reservoir with his buddy Aidan from school.

AJ at the pumpkin patch field trip.

Jax Man at the field trip too.

The twinsies just hangin' out with some hay and pumpkins.

This won't do justice to all of the months missed, but at least it's a snapshot of the here and now...

We moved!

Goodness, I'm behind! We sold in a week and a half, moved in with in-laws, and now we're finally settled in our own home! It's been a crazy few months. Mix in Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, new schools, buses, RSV, bronchitis, unpacking, etc... And it's no wonder my blog is just an afterthought. I don't guarantee regularity, but I'll try to update occasionally!

Scrumdiddle-ee-umptious!

My sweet baby Miles is growing up too fast! I think this is the first time that I've ever enjoyed a newborn. With my first, I was just in shock. (the lack of sleep thing really threw me for a loop...) With my next, they came in twos. Twins were just a hard blur. So now, finally... I'm enjoying this sweet, little, yummy smelling bundle of joy. I was just going through these pictures of when he was two weeks old. Sheri, at Sweet Pea Photos, took these pictures for me. I'm so glad I have them, because he already looks so different. He's turned into the little Michelin Man...

First Day of School

My oldest child has reached a fabulous milestone. Public school! Yippee! I had no tears on his first day. He did great and is having a great time in Mrs. Butler's class. I'm so proud of the leaps and bounds that he's made in the last year or two, socially. He's still super shy, but he's willing to try new things and overcome his anxieties. He's a great kid!

St. George

We had a great time in St. George with Gma and Gpa B. They were so nice to accomodate us! I think this is the first time I've ever gone to St. George in the summer and NOT swam! The unheated pool was just too dang cold. Nevertheless... the boys had a great time and we kept them busy!

The boys had a blast at the Coral Pink sand dunes. AJ was literally swimming in the sand. Jackson clung to Grandpa for dear life, and Alex was the leader of the pack. They also loved to hear their echo.

Next came Zions National Park. The highlights were the bus, the sticks, and the water.
And finally, Tarzan. Wow, I've never seen three little boys more enraptured! The costumes and show were spectacular!

Lastly, we drove home with three VERY tired boys... It was a fun time!

Ch-Ch-Change!

Changes seem to abound here lately. We've been contemplating moving for some time now... but it never seemed right. Well, once again, we thought we should move, and this time we actually listed our house on the MLS. Our close friend listed for us (although we even put off that process for a couple of weeks...). She listed Tuesday afternoon, and got her first call that same day, before she even posted pictures.

We ended up showing the house 8 times in 10 days. Luckily for me, my mom was here to help me clean for the first showing, Mark was here for the second, and then we left town for the other 6.

While we were out of town (in St. George), we got our first offer! The house had only been listed for six days! woo woo! Because we had no access to a printer or fax machine, we didn't plan on replying to that offer until we got home.

Well, the night before we came home, we got a second offer! What? In this crazy economy? Wowsuhs... There are homes in our neighborhood that have been listed for several months, and some more than a year. I couldn't believe it. Needless to say, we were able to play the bidding war, and we ended up with slightly more than we wanted!

Wow... we definitely feel so blessed, and like the hand of providence was part of this. Mark and I both hate change, and we're slow to make changes in our life. But after this, we both feel like it was meant to be. We're not sure where we're going or what's next, but hopefully with a lot of prayer, we'll be guided in that too.

So... change is on the horizon. I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store for us next!

Kitchen Before and After

Well, our kitchen re-do is finally finished! We had a small tax return this year, that we decided to designate towards countertops. However, that's all it would cover, so everything else had to be DIY. Well, DIY at our house entails my parents as well! Thank heavens for them! Besides the counters, our project totalled less than $400! That includes new sink, faucet, hardware, paint, corbels, bead board, and bar stools! Not too shabby, eh?

Before:

After:

Look at the delicious faucet and sink! Retails for $1400... we got it all for $250. woo woo! Nice to have connections once-in-a-while!Barstools for a steal! $7 for ALL THREE. Yup... you read that right. Thanks for garage sale shopping for me, Annie!Next up... accessorizing and decorating... Someday!