3 boys & a girl

Twenty Twelve

2012-01-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

Love these quotes... I think that they make perfect goals/reminders for any mommy (especially with young kids) Happy Twenty Twelve!

Perfection Doesn't Matter"I will embrace the fact that I'm not perfect.You can be cranky, you can lose your patience, and yes -- you can even move the clock ahead an hour just so the kids will go to bed early and give you some peace and quiet. You don't have to bake everything from scratch, make Halloween costumes out of scraps lying around the house, or coach the soccer team. Children don't need you to be perfect. What they really need are reasonable limits, lots of hugs and kisses, and a happy mommy."

Accept the Reality of Motherhood"I will learn to love the chaos.Family life is full of unexpected turns, contagious diseases, occasional humiliations, laundry, and more work than you'll ever see an end to. It is also full of moments of great beauty, tenderness, sticky kisses, and a miracle or two. Remind yourself that children are your excuse to lower your standards. As comedienne Phyllis Diller once said: "Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing."

Find Time to Play"I will get down on the floor and play with my child every day.Babies -- and older kids too -- need regular face-to-face time with the adults in their lives. And while it can be difficult to get involved in their fantasy world -- especially when you're busy or tired -- it's vital that you do it. Why? Because play is your child's way of expressing himself, and your being there boosts his emotional intelligence."

Practice Healthy Habits"I will take care of my body.When's the last time you put your needs first? Even if you have to force yourself, carve out 30 minutes a day, several days a week, to get some exercise. It improves your mood, blasts fat, and boosts your immune system. And we're not talking spin classes or complicated step aerobics here -- even a simple walk around the neighborhood will do the trick. While you're at it, try to eat a balanced diet and get as much sleep as you possibly can each night."

Appreciate the Little Things"I will remind myself daily that time with my child is precious.Motherhood never ends -- but childhood does. You have a baby, you blink, and suddenly there's a 3-year-old standing in front of you announcing, "I'm big now." The magic years are unbelievably brief, and every day that little girl or boy is changing and growing, edging a little closer toward the door. Remember that the essence of parenting isn't in the milestones, but in the everyday moments. So stop, pay attention, and make sure you celebrate them every chance you get."

New Years Eve

2012-01-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

Our New Years Eve... In 3 words... calm, quiet & heavenly. Cafe Rio for dinner, a firework show in the backyard put on by daddy, boys in bed by 7pm, mommy & daddy hanging out till midnight. A perfect way to ring in the New Year.

Cousins

2012-01-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

The Trimble kids were over playing one day... I took these pics & when I was looking back at them I couldn't help but think... My kids are never happier than when they are playing with their cousins (on both sides). It is a little slice of heaven. How lucky we are to have family.

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T22:21:00.000-07:00

Christmas Day was wonderful... We had great company (Omie & Pappa), We slept in, opened presents, had yummy food, went to Church, played games with Omie & Pappa, headed over to Cass & Jessicas for dinner & some more games, had a bonfire & roasted marshmallows & played some more games... Ah, the life. I wish everyday was Christmas :)

the boys patiently waiting in hardy's bedroom Christmas morning... we like them to come out together... that's how my family did it & i loved it. Cass always woke up at the crack of dawn & came & woke me up (i'm talking even when we were teenagers :)..some of my fav memories :).

a picture of our half lit tree & the goods from Santa ( hyrum & i both tried so many times to get the lights working & finally gave up.. .oh well :)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T11:52:00.001-07:00

Christmas Eve Afternoon Omie & Pappa came & stole the 3 big boys (Brody, Hardy & Cade) & took them to see Tin Tin. They of course loved it. It was awesome having the afternoon to get things wrapped & ready to go. That night we headed over to Cass & Jess's house for our traditional waffles/strawberries/whipped cream, eggs & sausage. It was so YUMMY! We did the nativity scene, opened our pj's, played pin the nose on the snowman, watched our traditional snowman movie & just hung out. It was perfect. On our way home Omie, Pappa & our little Decker family drove by the Temple lights & some other fun lights. The boys were asleep by the time we got home. We tucked them in to bed, put out Santa's cookies & rice milk (yes, Santa gets jipped at our house :)and of course some carrots for the reindeer. We crawled into bed around 11:30pm & fully expected to be awakened no later than 5:30am by our early bird Hardy boy....

Bass Pro Adventures

2011-12-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Jessica & I decided to load all the kids up & head to Bass Pro shop to meet Santa. We had planned on it being a morning of chaos :) It actually wasn't as crazy as we thought it would be... plus you get a free picture with Santa! Can't beat that. :) They had a bunch of little things all around to keep the kids entertained (remote control cars, shooting ducks in a row, video games, etc)The kids loved it.

The classic photo with Santa... I asked the photographers if there was a cash prize for the best drop dead looks of the day :) Pretty sure my kids would have won it if so :). Hardy did attempt to smile but it kind of turned out to be the akward i forgot how to smile look & Cole was like I'm only here to get a piece of candy afterwards.HAHA!!

Tis the Season

2011-12-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hardy is really at a fun age right now. He gets so excited about holidays, parties, crafts, etc. Here are some of his little Holiday crafts. We had them on display on our garage door for all to see :) He has been all about Christmas this entire month. He has loved having us sing him Christmas songs.... every night at bed time, in the car, on walks or randomly throughout the day. His favorite song was Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star (Twinkle, Twinkle Christmas Star, How I wonder what you are, Up above the tree so high, like an Angel in the sky...) I think he learned it in primary & man did he love it. We've driven around & looked at a million lights & talked pretty much daily about what Christmas means & how special the birth of our Savior was.

Its been so fun to watch him soak it all up and there has been such a special spirit in our home. Im grateful for sweet little boys that remind me how precious this holiday is.

Coley Cole

2011-12-22T08:47:00.005-07:00

I am just absolutely adoring being this boys mamma. He brightens every single day. He is growing up so very fast. There is no one he adores more than his big brother "hahdee" and the times he laughs & giggles the very hardest are when he is playing with his daddy. I treasure the times I get to just sit & snuggle him. He is still my little snuggler, thank goodness for that. However, even though he is a snuggler he is also a go go goer. He is constantly on the move;climbing on the table, emptying my pots & pans, emptying my bathroom cabinets, jumping on the bed, you name it he does it. This boy keeps his mamma hopping. Cole LOVES shoes. He is often seen sporting mommies or daddies shoes or anyone else's he can find. Our shoe basket gets emptied probably 400 times a day :) Cole also loves mittens & gloves (just like his big brother Hardy). He will put a glove on & wear it the entire day- including nap time. Cole has discovered that he has pockets & he likes to stuff everything imaginable in them (food, rocks, acorns, etc). He also likes to just stick his left hand in his pocket & walk around. Very cute. Cole doesn't quite realize that he is 1 & not 4. When Hardy has friends over Cole fits right in. It makes him so sad when we drop Hardy off at preschool or friends houses. He doesn't understand why he can't go too. He also loves to mimic Hardy... if Hardy is sweet... Cole is sweet... if Hardy is naughty...well, yep so is Cole. Ah, the joys of having a big brother :) Cole is still our super eater. He eats & eats & eats & eats... and boy does he get excited when its time to eat :)He has this really funny exploding laugh going on right now & his favorite times to use it are when he's getting at treat or in the middle of church- yes it is very entertaining to all surrounding us :) My favorite sign that Cole uses is "love you" he pronounces it "Wahnee" (no idea where that came from) and crosses his arms against his chest & then points to you. He also throws in a kiss blown to you at the end. It is the cutest thing ever! I would have to say that Cole's number one word he uses the most is "Hi". It is equally as adorable :) He says it with much gusto & boy would this world be a happier place if everyone was greeted with such energy & love :). We love our little Coley Cole.

Burning Bush

2011-12-22T08:44:00.003-07:00

Hardy & I were looking at his church picture book this morning & there was a picture with Moses & the burning bush. We were talking about what it was and Hardy said... "we should get a fire truck & water hose & put that fire out". :)

Artist

2011-12-21T13:25:00.003-07:00

We have quite the artist at our house lately. Hardy didn't used to like to color at all but the last 6 months he has changed his mind. He loves to color, draw & write. He is especially great at drawing portraits of people. They tend to look a bit like monsters but hey monsters are one of his favorite things so I'd take that as a compliment :) There isn't a piece of paper in our house that doesn't have a beautiful picture drawn on it. He also loves writing his name & lots of other letters trying to form words. It's really cute watching how much he enjoys it.

Helpers

2011-12-20T23:48:00.003-07:00

I think one of my favorite things are when my two cute boys are scooted up next to the counter helping me make treats :)What fabulous helpers they are.

Christmas Lights

2011-12-19T23:43:00.003-07:00

We have made it a tradition to grab Hot Cocoa/Chocolate Milk & Doughnuts and drive around with my family and look at the Christmas lights. Its such a fun to do & you don't even have to mess with crowds! Most of the kids came in our car & Grandpa, Cass, Jess & Reesie followed us in their car. As you can imagine... our car was quite full of energy & of course Christmas songs and Christmas car dancin :)

Train Park

2011-12-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

We are loving this Arizona winter weather!! We had a fun time at the train park with the Decker family. The kids ran around & played, went on the carousel ride (which by the end everyone was completely ready to get off of) and the icing on the top was the Christmas light train ride. Santa was also there but we didn't have the energy to brave the lines :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-10T10:11:00.002-07:00

2011-11-30T14:30:00.006-07:00

Dear Grandpa,

I started this letter long before you slipped away from us. I remember thinking about the countless items I could choose to talk to you about. Would I tell you how proud I was of you? How courageous you are? Your entire world has changed these last few years & yet you faced every step of it with courage, trust & faith. Would I tell you that I had this burning sense of pride deep in my heart every time I told someone I was the granddaughter of Roy Jesperson? You earned the respect & love that accompany that name. Would I tell you that some of my most cherished memories are the times I spent with you & Grandma, whether it was watching old western movies or listening to your stories? You were quite the storyteller. Your eyes would light up & sparkle more & more with each embellished detail. Grandma couldn’t help but roll her eyes & sigh, with a smile of endearment. Do I tell you how grateful I am to have had one the most giving & kind men I know as a Grandfather. Would I tell you that your hands, those precious hands were dearer to me than you could possibly imagine. I can’t think of anything more wonderful than the comfort of being embraced and cared for with those big, gentle, loving hands.

There were so many pieces to you and to the amazing life you lived; your happiness & joy were contagious. You were a Pilot, a Healer, a Patriot, a Cherished Husband, a Loving Father and so many more things. But the most important thing you were to me was, my Grandpa. I have to admit, that losing you has left a much bigger hole in my heart than I expected. It makes perfect sense though. What a big part of my life you were. I can’t think of a better reason to shed so many tears. I’m grateful for every tear I have shed & continue to shed. Only the greatest Grandfather could have left such a mark. I love you dearly and can hardly wait to feel those big gentle hands in a wonderful embrace when we meet again.

Love,

Chelsea

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-31T14:30:00.008-07:00

For Halloween night my family came over & we had pizza, pop & treats. After our tummies were full we headed out to go Trick or Treating. I'm so bummed our camera settings were all weird & none of my pics turned out :( This is the best one we got of the little crew. Cass & Jess went above & beyond with their kids costumes. They made all of them. They were adorable...An Airplane, Helicopter, Sunshine & Cloud. The kids had a blast trick or treating & man did my kids bring home a ton of candy.

Aunt Kimmy, Uncle Gary, Jenna & Dustin came to join in on the fun too. Kim & Gary handed out candy while the rest of us went trick or treating. My kids LOVE their family.

Cole snuggling Jenna

Hardy hanging out with Dustin

And I had to get a few pics of our 1st Halloween in our new house...

Happy Halloween!

Aaarrghh Matey! Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T14:30:00.007-07:00

Happy Halloween from two cute little Pirates!

Halloween Day was nice & lay back. We had spooky treats for breakfast, lunch & dinner & watched Halloween cartoons all day long! It was fabulous :)

Pumpkin Pancakes

Ghost pb&J with raisins

Mummy Pizza w Mummy Apple Juice

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-31T10:27:00.007-07:00

Last night we had a little get together with the Decker family. Everyone came over to our house for soup, rolls & pumpkin carving. Hardy looked forward to it all week long & I'm pretty sure it measured up to his expectations.Treats, pumpkins & cousins... heaven :)

all of the AZ Decker cousins

Our little pumpkin

Hardy & Berlin

All the men hard at work

Mommie Alison snuggling sweet little Emma

Mommie Alison, Laura & Emma

(can you believe this girl just had a baby!! yes, she looks amazing!)

enjoying our beautiful October weather

Rooooar...cute little Isaac

the party table

Happy Trick or Treating!

18 months already??

2011-09-18T20:19:00.012-07:00

Nursery, here we come!

My baby is growing up!! Very mixed feelings on this. Some VERY sad & some VERY happy. Cole was a champ & walked right in without looking back.

No more walking the halls, hiding in rooms, driving around the parking lot or ditching Sunday School & RS to head home for naptime :)

Emma Kay Peterson

2011-09-18T20:09:00.005-07:00

Look at this little Angel! We are SOOO excited! Hyrum's sister Laura had a cute little baby girl! After the 8 boys in a row on the Decker side we are quite excited for a little miss sunshine. We got to go spend some time with her at the hospital & I did not want to leave. I think she even won Hyrum over who swears I'm gonna have 5 boys in a row :)

Congrats Peterson Family!! We are so excited Emma has joined our family.

Such a boy!

2011-09-18T20:06:00.002-07:00

You know you have a BOY when....

they sleep with soccer balls :)

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2011-09-15T16:28:00.005-07:00

Ah, the Great Outdoors! For Labor Day we went camping with Omie & Pappa & the Trimble Family. Hyrum and I endure & enjoy camping all at the same time :) Our boys were in dirt heaven the entire time. It was actually really fun however, we had a slight bee problem. I'm not a fan! We thought we were being oh so great by bringing bug repellent that had natural ingredients (lavender, lemon grass, etc). Um, after the 1st day of spraying like crazy & there were TONS of bees we decided to ditch the spray. Worked like a charm. We were actually ATTRACTING them with our stuff!! Besides that & the fact I was positive I was going to get eaten by a Bear it was a fun trip :) Oh & the GIANT marshmallows with the s'mores were awesome! They were seriously the size of my palm. If you haven't tried em... its a must :)

Army Strong

2011-08-25T21:13:00.008-07:00

As you can see the Birthday Boy wanted an Army birthday. I personally think it is an excellent pick :) I like to "help" Hardy with decisions on costumes, parties, etc by giving him like 3 things to pick from but this year every time I gave him the choices he said I want a CLOWN birthday. I just couldn't think of a way to pull off a clown theme without it being completely creepy! Then one day I asked him when Hyrum was there (really to show Hyrum that he would answer clown) and Hyrum said what about an Army birthday. Hardy was sold :) Daddy saved the day.
I guess we will start from the start of his day & work our way down....

{Breakfast}
We are in a bit of transition until our flooring is done in our new place so we have been having lots of fun over at the Trimble's house. We were able to spend Brodys bday with him earlier this week. Cass & Jess went & grabbed some nice & sugary cold cereal the night before his bday since that was Brody's breakfast request. I LOVED the idea. We eat pancakes, waffles, french toast & stuff like that often enough that its really no extra special treat for him. A box of pure sugar cereal however is something that we never get. So, a couple days before Hardy's birthday I took him to Walmart & let him pick out any 2 boxes of cereal he wanted. It was really funny because at first he was just grabbing anything in front of him. I said take your time & find something that looks extra yummy. This is what he came up with. I have to admit I nudged him towards the peanut butter captain crunch :)

Later that day after preschool we all headed to Bahama Bucks for Hardy's free Shaved Ice.

Cole especially loved his (and mine, and aunt jess's) :)

Then it was home (Cassidy & Jessica's house at the moment) to have our little family party.

We painted the kids faces, gave them all their dog tags & of course decorated them with Army tough tattoos. It was a hit.

Our birthday dinner consisted of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Grapes. 2 of Hardy's favorites of course.

Kallie & Cole have been best little buds the last couple of weeks. Here they are sharing a little candy necklace love :)

Cutie Cade

Cass, Jess & Reeses pieces

And to finish the day off we had a little water balloon grenade throwing coupled with squirt guns. And yes, as you might guess... it ended in tears :)

I'd say a little too much fun & sugar but hey, your bday is only once a year :)
Happy Birthday Hardy!!
xoxoxo

1,461 Days Ago...

2011-08-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

4 yrs ago today, on a Saturday morning at 6:03am & after 16 hours of labor my very first little Blue Eyed Curly Haired Boy arrived. We love our little Hardy man more than words can express.

I came across an email that my sweet Grandma Jesperson sent me shortly after Hardy was born. I absolutely love what she wrote....

"Welcome to our world Little One, May you always know how much you are loved & cherished."
How lucky we are to be able to celebrate this special day each year!

Happy Birthday Hardy!!
Lots of Hugs & Kisses,
Mommy & Daddy

Boys Pics

2011-08-21T22:18:00.008-07:00

I am always a crazy woman when planning pictures for the boys. My boys are NOT big fans of getting their pics taken & I am always stressed none of them are gonna turn out. However, my friend Amy always does an AWESOME job! These are a few of my fav's from Hardy's 4 yr pics & Cole's 18 mos. I know I'm a little biased but I think they turned out pretty darn cute :) Thanks Amy!!

Chapter 2

2011-08-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official. Our little family has moved onto Chapter 2. Since we were a "we" we have lived on Washington & Cole. This house will always have a special place in my heart.
It was good to us :)

The boys were loaded, the house was packed & I was rushing out the door... I realized this might be the last time I rushed down these stairs or out this door. I sat down on the stairs & cried. These were happy & sad tears mixed together. I realized I was about to close a chapter in my life & open another one. This is the house that I lived in with girls that I love dearly, some of those girls I now get to call my sisters, this is the house I came home to with an engagement ring on my finger, this is the house that has seen many special celebrations (baby blessings, birthday parties, 1st birthdays, bridal showers, baby showers), this is the house that I slept in the night before I was sealed to my best friend for time & all eternity, this is the 1st home I shared with him, this is the home I brought my precious baby boys home to. This is the home that their little world began in.
I am so excited for the future & know that change is inevitable, I happen to like change but just needed a minute to sit & think & cry about this wonderful house that I will always hold dear to my heart.

So, yes tears were shed but hey, that is not always a bad thing. I am very excited for Chapter 2 & all of the wonderful memories we will make in our new little house. And someday I'm sure I will sit in that house, close another chapter & cry some more wonderful tears :)

Guess what....

2011-08-15T19:34:00.006-07:00

I'm an official PRESCHOOLER!!!!
Watch out world... Here comes Hardy!

Heading Home....

2011-08-12T17:04:00.008-07:00

The last day of our Utah trip was filled with fun. It was grandpa Dale's bday so we got to celebrate with him. I left the kidos at home with daddy & went on a daddy daughter date with my dad all afternoon. It was so nice to be able to spend some quality time with him. This man is one of the most amazing you will ever meet! Heavenly Father sure knew what he was doing when he sent me to him. He is the absolute best dad a girl could ask for. I love him dearly & am grateful for the 32 years I've had with him. I get kind of tearful thinking about my dad & how much I love him. I plan on spending many many more years learning what he has to teach me & just enjoying his company. As you can see the boys are equally as fond of grandpa dale. They had such a wonderful time at his house. Happy Birthday Dad!! We love you!

In the morning before i took off with my dad we took the boys & went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. On Tuesdays its only $2 to get in so we of course had to jump on that. Let me tell you.... everyone else in Utah jumped on it as well. It was a madhouse! :) But for $2 well worth it!
After the museum we had a little picnic on the grass & then headed home.

On the way back to grandpas we had to make a stop at this cute little family owned ice cream shop... Hardy of course LOVES ice cream (chocolate to be exact) but Cole isn't too fond of the cold. So, Hardy ate his as well :)

4 Generations

2011-08-08T14:26:00.006-07:00

Hyrum & his grandmother are very close. They both share a love of researching & learning about their ancestors. The best way for me to describe Hyrum's grandmother is elegance. Her cute little room & the way she talks & dresses just makes me think of what it means to be graceful. I love it. She is an amazing woman.

{4 Generations}

{Momie Hardy & Momie Alison}
We also got to have a little Birthday lunch with Popie Craig! Happy Birthday Popie Craig!! A few of our favorite things about you are...
the wAy you sing to the grAndbabies with your deep strong voice, your big bRight smiLe, all of your fun one-liners, your stoRies, how selfless & serving you are, all the fun & quirky things you come up with for the grandkids to enjoy & most of all we love that you love & adore your children & grandchildren.
Happy Birthday! We love you!

Random & Swimming

2011-08-08T14:04:00.006-07:00

Ah, brotherly love a little rest stop after visiting the {clArk plAnetarium}zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............

maren & i

An Afternoon of Swimming...

Cheese!

2011-08-08T13:53:00.002-07:00

bored....& waiting for daddy's plane to arrive.... :)

Holiday Park

2011-08-08T13:16:00.007-07:00

{Holiday Park}

Hyrum's family has a cabin in Holiday Park (park city area) that he grew up going to. He has a lot of fun memories there so we thought it would be fun to take a day trip out & explore a bit. It is an absolutely beautiful place & we are hoping to visit more often as our kids get bigger. Hyrum joined us a few days ago & the boys have been stuck to him like glue ever since he arrived. Needless to say they are glad to have their daddy here! There were Bear Warning signs everywhere & I was so afraid we were going to run into a bear. Hardy was our bear lookout boy the entire time but luckily no sign of Bears :)

Utah Adventures

2011-07-30T10:35:00.008-07:00

{Antelope Island}
We drove out across the Great Salt Lake & visited Antelope Island. It was a nice little afternoon drive. We saw a few antelope & a few buffalo & then did a tour of the ranch that is there. This was at the top of Buffalo lookout... beautiful. I'm afraid of heights & was anxiety ridden (you cant tell in the pic but we were up really high & there was just a big rock between us & falling straight to our death :) But it was still gorgeous.
the crazy boys
(the reason hardy tried to smile for this pic is b/c i bribed him w/ m&ms :)
gpa & gma w/ the kidos
hardy was SO not wanting to take a picture... stinker.
me & my cute boys
-note that hardy is STILL not wanting to take pictures :)
grandma sherry & cole
grandpa dale & cole
grandma sherry & hardy
the boys
My SIL Jessica's little brother is living w/ my dad right now & the boys are attached to him like glue!! He's such a sweetie & helps me out all the time. I call him my adopt a husband while I'm here :)
{Temple Square}
Another fun day was our visit to Temple square with Aunt Maren. Temple Square is one of my all time favorite places. It is absolutely beautiful & equally peaceful.
the beautiful view from the top of the church office building
the boys with my darling & oh so fun SIL Maren
love this picture...
They had this awesome kids section in the Museum of Church History just west of the temple. If you haven't checked it out you should!! We were there for almost 2 hours & I still had to drag my kids out of it. Definitely a fun stop!
check out this mug

have i mentioned that i adore these little guys???
and we of course had to finish the day off w/ some silly face pictures :)
(currently one of Hardy's absolute favorite things to do)

Dear Daddy,

2011-07-28T19:27:00.004-07:00

Dear Daddy,

We miss you oh so much. Life just isn't the same without you. Don't get me wrong... mom is like the coolest, sweetest, smartest, most fun person on the planet but we still miss you :) We miss bedtime stories & songs (daddy style), we miss playing hide n go seek, timber & red light - green light, playing Mario brothers, snuggles, tickle time & laughing, wrestling time, and most of all we just miss having you around. You are the best daddy ever!!

Thank you for staying home & working so hard so that we can go on fun trips like this.

We love you so much & can't wait to see you.

Lots of XOXOXOXOX's,

Hardy & Cole

oh & ps: mom said she misses you too :)

88 degrees & loving it

2011-07-28T08:29:00.013-07:00

Well, we got the house all packed & ready to go & decided to escape the boxes & the heat & head up to visit Grandpa Dale & Grandma Sherry in Bountiful, UT. Our new place isn't quite ready to move into yet so we figured what the heck, lets take a little road trip. We are absolutely in heaven!!! I think we will need to make a tradition out of this. What a treat to be able to go to the park mid day :) Not something we do back home in our 115 degree weather. Grandpa & Grandma are spoiling us rotten & we are also spending lots of time with aunts, uncles & cousins. Fun, fun, fun. We miss daddy terribly but have been able to have some video chats with him so that helps. :)

I was a little nervous about the drive up (14 hours w/ only myself, an 18 month old & a 4 yr old) but it actually went really well. Cole only slept 2 hours out of the entire trip & was screaming hysterically for 30 minutes straight but other than that it went better than expected! We don't have TV's in our car so my boys aren't used to watching anything while we are driving. I decided I wasn't gonna break out my moms little DVD player until it was defcon 5 :) Well, luckily we made it about 11 hours before I had to use it & it made the last 3 hours bearable. I had a ridiculous amount of snacks (see above) to keep the kids distracted & we sang lots of songs :) Anyways, we made it safe & sound & are glad we decided to take the plunge & head up.
Pit Stop in Page for a potty/wiggle break...
(Burger King)

Since we've been here some of the things that have been keeping us entertained are:
lots & lots of beAutiFuL parks (liberty, sugar house, etc)!, walks, handcArt dAys, teMple sQuare, riding bIkes, plAying in the wAter, plAying with gRaNdmA's AweSome tOys, fiRecrAckers, spEnding time w/ fAmily!
Cole snuggling up with grandpa
{hAndcArt dAys}
Luckily we were here for the 24th of July. Utah is a great place to be to celebrate our Pioneers arriving in the Utah Valley. Grandpa & the boys & I headed down to the park for Handcart Days. It was cute & fun. Live music, lots of fun booths & yummy carnival style treats.
hArdy enjoying his 1st ever snOwcoNe & coLe munching on some popcorn
a little lunch break at one of grandpas favorite places
{tAco mAker}
mmm.... bAskin rObbins
aNd hArdy's faVorite part of the trip....
tIme spEnt with COUSINS!wyAtt-hArdy-hAllie
I could definitely get used to this snowbird life :)

Cute as a button

2011-07-17T18:56:00.007-07:00

This little one has so many cute things going on lately I feel like I can't keep up. Every day he has me smiling at something new.

A few of them are:

Ppppsshhh, ppppsssh which means he is shooting a gun ( a gun by the way is anything & everything) he has picked this up much sooner than his big brother. I'm guessing it is due to the fact that he has a big brother ;) I was a little traumatized the first time Hardy played with a toy gun but with Cole turning random things like straws, legos & wrappers into guns I think it is adorable!

Dance, Dance Dance! This boy can cut up some serious rug. I need to put a video on with his dancing because it is totally unique. He looks like a little stud working the area. He balls his fists up in front of his chest & moves them back & forth kind of making a box. He is squatting down while he's doing it. So cute!

No. He just in the last couple days has gotten to the NO stage. Its the cute No stage though :) I think he thinks yes & no are the same at this point because everything you ask him he says no. I'm trying to teach him to move his head up & down & say yes. We'll see how that goes ;)

Baths. Oh boy, if this kid hears the bath going his clothes are coming off & he is climbing over the side. Needless to say, he loves them.

Surrender. When Cole gets frustrated at something with me or with Hyrum he will run to the end of the hall (right by our bedroom) throw himself on the floor and suck his thumb. It is as if he is saying I surrender, I give up I can't handle you people... my thumb will always be there for me! :)

Popcorn Popping. Lately when we are in the car & he is ready to be done he has started hollering at me. Non stop... like a little wood pecker! The only thing that will get him to stop is..... POP CORN POPPING. That's right. I have to sing pop corn popping on the apricot tree the entire time until we get home. He loves it. And yes I try to do the hand movements as I'm driving... I'm sure I look ridiculous & probably am endangering our lives but hey I figure its safer than me trying to think & drive with his shouting. :)

All done! He is also doing very well with signing which makes my life oh so much easier. My favorite sign he does is All done! He does it when we are done changing it diaper, when he is done getting in his jammies, when he is done eating (he even hands me his plate.... a whole lot nicer than how hardy used to chuck it across the kitchen!) and even when i'm sharing a little treat with him & tell him we are all done. Its adorable to see him throw his hands up over his head & say All Done!

Bedtime. He loves to be put to bed by daddy. If daddy isn't home than mommy will do but if daddy is here he will have no part of mommy putting him to bed :) I'll let Hyrum have his little slice of pie :)

Just a few of our favorite things about Coley Cole

(as brother & daddy call him :)

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T20:02:00.008-07:00

I think Independence Day might be my favorite holiday. I get a little teary thinking of how grateful I am to live in this wonderful country. I want my children

to know how lucky they are & what a privilege it is to be here. It is a choice land.

It's a beautiful sight driving through my neighborhood & seeing the streets

lined with red, white & blue. I love our flag. I love our country. I love the men & women who have fought for it.

We usually head up to Payson or Cali to celebrate with fam but this year we decided to stay home. We weren't too excited about being in the heat but it actually was a really great day & was fun to celebrate with just our little family.

Here is what our celebration looked like....

After a quick 6:30am run to Walmart due to lack of preparedness :)...

The day started out with patriotic pancakes & patriotic music

then off for a little family swimming.

I was feeling a little guilty the other day because

I seriously have very few pictures of my boys together. I decided I needed to be sure to get some in their flag shirts today. That is when I remembered why I have very few of the 2 of them together!!!

the party table

the festive veggie platter

hyrum didn't notice until halfway through the meal that the fruit was a flag. men! :)

fresh corn on the cob

homemade mac & cheese

buffalo wings

bomb pops (these really are the bomb! yum!!)

all sugared up & ready to do some firecrackers with daddy

It also involved, patriotic coloring pages, firecrackers put on by daddy, & a short little toddler lesson on Independence Day. The wee ones were a little worn out by bedtime so we tucked them in & daddy & mommy got to watch a movie while listening to all the fireworks in the neighborhood. It was a great day!

Happy 4th!

Living in Limbo

2011-07-03T13:40:00.006-07:00

This is what our living room & most of our house currently looks like. Good times :) Actually I'm a freak & enjoy packing. (probably cuz I haven't had to do it in 6 years!!)

This is another picture of a regular occurance at our house lately... Garage Sales. I have a love-hate relationship with Garage Sales. I hate hate hate doing them until I start counting my money & then I love them :)

We are very excited to get moved & settled into our new place! And also excited to finish packing so that the kidos & I can get out of this heat & visit some fam in utah & payson before we make the big move! (okay not so big its only on the other side of guadalupe ha-ha)

And on a sidenote... I'm very proud of myself on this one.... Hyrum is always teasing me about buying "junk" which I happen to call awesome finds off of craigs list & garage sales :) Scoring something awesome for a great deal is like a drug to me. I LOVE it!! :)

Anways, I found this rocking chair at a garage sale about 7 years ago for $40. I painted it white, bought a little cushion for it & have loved it. We don't have a place for it at the new house & I sold it on craigs list for $60. Waa hoo. I love it when stuff like that happens!

Summer time

2011-07-02T12:06:00.004-07:00

Ah, the sweet life of summer.

{iRrigAtioN.fResH fRuiT. coRn oN tHe coB.hoT dOgs)

My little Fishy

2011-07-02T11:33:00.003-07:00

Swimming is one of my absolute favorite things in the world!

I am loving that Hardy is totally in to the water this summer. Last summer, not so much. He is taking swim lessons through the town of Gilbert & is currently an OTTER. His teacher for the first session was Mac (red hat). Mac is awesome!! I could literally hear him chanting Hardy, Hardy, Hardy across the pool regularly. He was like the perfect swim teacher. Tossing Hardy around & throwing him in the air. Hardy LOVED it. We are now in second session & Hardy is still doing well but warming up a bit to his new teacher, Wes. Wes is a little too calm for our crazy boy Hardy. But, he is still a great teacher & Hardy is loving being in the water. I love watching him, except for the fact that Cole & I are red faced & dripping in sweat by the end :)

It didn't occur to me until it was too late that HELLO, why not sign Cole & I up for the mom & tot one so we aren't melting & Cole can get some swimming in. Man, I swear my brain is gone :) Next session though Cole will be joining the party!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-19T13:11:00.003-07:00

Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name. ~William Wordsworth

Happy Father's Day!

31 and counting...

2011-06-18T12:43:00.013-07:00

My hubby turned 31 this week. We of course had to celebrate!! I mean seriously... this mans birth is something to celebrate!! I can't imagine a life without him. He is the cheese to my macaroni, the PB to my J, the... well you get the idea :) hahaha. He is the MOST amazing daddy ever & the funnest person to laugh with! Bottom line, we love this man.

We had a fun day cashing in on all his bday freebies & then that evening a couple of his friends & their wives came over for some treats & games. Hyrum is not a fan of attention on his bday (um, pretty sure he married the wrong girl then!!) so instead of a big get together I asked all of his family & a couple of friends to send me a picture wishing Hyrum happy bday (thanks Melissa for the cute idea!!). The pics all turned out really cute! I hung them all up with close pins on our hutch so that Hyrum could wake up to them morning of his bday. He loved it! Thanks everyone for all your great pics! Happy bday babes. Love love love you!

the birthday table

happy bday pics

the party table

and all of the fun bday pics....

Happy 30th Cass!

2011-06-05T13:00:00.006-07:00

My baby brother is officially 30! Wowza. Jess threw him an AMAZING suprise party. It was a ton of fun & everything was adorable. She did a pool party with yummy subs, chips & salads for food. For desserts she did his FAV adult desserts & for party favors she did a candy bar with his FAV childhood candies. Instead of having people bring gifts she asked them to just bring a box of his FAV cold cereal. Too cute! He is officially stocked up on Cracklin Oat Bran!! She also had all these cute childhood pics of him everywhere.

Happy Birthday Cass!!! We love you dearly & can't imagine life without ya.

Our first Family Camping Trip

2011-06-03T10:29:00.005-07:00

We are official Campers!

Our first camping experience as a family was in Christopher Creek with some of Hyrum's fam. I'm sold! Honestly, I thought it would be pure misery but it was actually such a fun time! I hope to make it a regular tradition. My kids loved every minute of it & were covered from head to toe in dirt. The camping party included, Hyrum's dad, Chris & Clare, Cody, Laura, Zach & Isaac, Jake & Berlin & us!

the drive up... my boys slept & zach & berlin laughed the ENTIRE drive :)

cole falling asleep to poppie craig's singing

my boys zonked out...aunt jess made them their cute "camping" blankets for Christmas last year... they finally got to really use them for camping!

i was up all night worrying about them being cold but they did just fine :)

our campsite

and hardy's little caterpillar friend

On our way out of town we stopped at the fish hatchery & then a little picnic stop. It was a wonderful trip & I can't think of a better way to make memories.

Daddy/Son Time

2011-06-03T10:21:00.002-07:00

This was the first month we started our daddy/son tradition. Hyrum is already really good about spending quality time with the boys but we decided we needed to have a designated daddy/son day each month. So, the 1st Saturday of the month Hyrum is going to take Hardy to do something special in the morning & then Cole to do something special in the afternoon. That way they each get their own time with daddy. This month he took Hardy to Lowe's for their free Grow & Learn class. They made these cute little airplanes. Then they went to the library & picked out some books & came home. Hardy loved it!

I didn't get a pic of our little Cole but he got to go to Chick Fil A & get some fries with daddy & play in the play area & then went to the dollar section at Target to pick out his very own toy.

Simple things but the boys love that 1 on 1 time with daddy.

Miss Shari

2011-05-25T18:44:00.004-07:00

Today was Hardy's last day with Miss Shari. He has been going to a playtime class at her house since August. He loves it. I love it! Shari lives just in front of us so its so nice to just walk him over to class. The other day we were at a park & Hardy said, "Mommy, I miss Miss Shari". It was really cute. Next August he will be taking preschool from her & he is SO excited!! This was my first time for a "teacher gift" and I found the cutest little fabric flower idea. I am SO not crafty. It was super easy! I decided to do it on pencils & stick it in a jar of almond kisses. My flowers didn't look nearly as cute as the ones I found online but hey, they worked :)

i forgot to take a pic beforehand so here is my quick pick in the car... you cant see the cute polka dot & striped fabrics... oh well.

sick babies

2011-05-25T18:39:00.003-07:00

this cute boy is not feeling too hot..... but on the bright side, i'm getting lots of snuggles today!

Zoo

2011-05-25T12:58:00.004-07:00

My Mom & Michael give us Zoo passes every year for Christmas & we love it!

This week we took 1 last trip to the zoo while the weather was still under 100 :) After this our visits will be strictly to the Zoo SPLASH PADS!

It was fun as usual & especially fun having daddy with us.

All Star Sports

2011-05-22T11:53:00.002-07:00

Hardy & Berlin took another little class together. This time it was All Star Sports (soccer, basketball, football & tball). Hardy absolutely loved this class. I think it is a must to have little boys in things that can help get their wiggles out. It's so fun that Hardy & Berlin are the same age so that they can take classes together. Berlin is one of Hardy's very favorite people & you can tell when they are together. The last day of class Hyrum & I and also Jake & Leisel & Hyrum's parents all came to watch the kidos perform their "skills". It was super cute to watch them & they loved the attention!

Sleep Over

2011-05-22T11:30:00.003-07:00

Hardy's cousins, Brody & Cade came over for a sleepover last week. It's fun having Hardy getting a bit older so we can do things like this. I'm excited for when we can let them roast marshmallows & sleep in a tent in the backyard but this time we kept it pretty simple. They played & played & played & in between their playing they....

stayed in their jammies ALL DAY LONG :)

jumped on the trampoline

ate chocolate chip pancakes

planted some magic jelly beans (that the Easter bunny left us)

they waited.... and waited.... and waited... for those jelly beans to grow into.....

lollipops!!

they were SOOOOOO excited & in aw :)

the end.

Cole's 1st Haircut

2011-05-22T11:12:00.005-07:00

This was Cole's very first "real" haircut. Last summer he got the buzz cut from daddy but this time he actually got to take a trip across the street to Great Clips! He was a little apprehensive & was giving the lady the stare down but he did really good! He especially loved the sucker he got at the end. I was a little traumatized because she took off a little more than I was expecting so I forgot to get an after picture but after a couple of days I actually really liked it. Handsome boy.

the best before pics I could get :)

Cole & Big Brother Hardy waiting for their haircuts

Easter 2011

2011-05-18T20:45:00.007-07:00

We seem to celebrate holidays for weeks instead of days :) The Saturday before Easter we spent the day with my mom & michael. Hyrum & Hardy were at the Father & Sons camp out so Fri night Cole & I had a sleepover with Omie & Pappa. The next morning when Hyrum & Hardy came back through Payson the Easter bunny had come a little early & even knew where to find us! I think he knows we like to do Easter basket stuff the day before Easter leaving Sunday to celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior :) When the boys arrived the Easter bunny had left Hardy & Cole a fun jelly bean trail all the way to their Easter baskets. We had yummy blueberry pancakes, a fun Easter egg hunt in the forest (the Easter Bunny left baseball bats & snakes hanging from the trees), we decorated eggs & took a nice day hike. It was so wonderful being up North & hanging out with Omie & Pappa.

hardy found a caterpillar & i was positive he was gonna squish it he was playing with it so much but amazingly enough it survived :)

the weekend before Easter we had Cass & Jess & their kidos over for Easter dinner. I really wanted to make a yummy Easter dinner & it was fun!! I even made homemade rolls! A first for me :)

our Easter menu consisted of: Turkey, mashed potatoes, grav

y, rolls, stuffing, broccoli, lemon cake & strawberry lemonade. Delish!

i love these cute little "carrot" utensils & fun dipped Easter oreo treats

what would we do without the Target $1 section?? the boys loved these carrot bubbles...

And to wrap up our Easter celebration on the ACTUAL day of Easter we went over to Hyrum's sister Rachel's house for a yummy dinner & some QT w/ family. It was perfect. These were the fun carrot cake cupcakes I took (they looked cuter than they tasted! :)

Happy Easter!

Girls

2011-05-17T11:20:00.004-07:00

Yes, husbands are awesome... but Girlfriends/SIL's/Sisters... are well, rays of sunshine :) Who else would show up at your house with this when you are having one of "those" days. I'm so thankful for the many wonderful women Heavenly Father has sent me :)

Thank you!

Father/Sons Camp out

2011-05-17T10:56:00.005-07:00

Hyrum took Hardy on his first Father & Sons camp out over Easter weekend. They went up Friday, dropped Cole & I off at my moms house & then they headed out to their wild adventure :) I don't know why I didn't take a pic of them before they left!! Here are a couple shots Hyrum got. It cracks me up how beat Hardy looks. This is just the beginning of many many father & sons camp outs.

Happy Birthday Momie Alison

2011-05-17T10:37:00.002-07:00

we love this wonderful woman.

poop or dirt?

2011-05-17T10:33:00.002-07:00

Hardy: "Mom, Is this poop or dirt?"

In little boy world what else could it possibly be, right? :)

silliness

2011-05-17T10:01:00.002-07:00

some more silly hardy shots.... and yes that would be marker all over his tummy & legs... ugh.

just a little snapshot

2011-05-17T09:19:00.002-07:00

i look so scary in these but i think hardy looks so cute! love the random close ups.

Owie

2011-05-08T19:50:00.002-07:00

My baby had his first major owie. It broke our hearts. Hyrum & I were a little bit freaking out. He was drinking his sippy while walking & tripped. It ripped a hole right above the front two teeth where your gums connect at the top. It was so sad & bled a LOT. He was such a sweet boy about it & enjoyed sucking on the otter pops we always bust out for mouth injuries.

Cole's 1st Dental Visit

2011-05-08T18:12:00.004-07:00

This is our big boy Cole at his first trip to the dentist. Between the 2 boys I had my hands full so sadly I didn't get any pics of him during his visit. He did great & his teeth looked great! He has like 6 coming in right now poor baby. Dr. Randy is so great & the office we go to is just the cutest little office ever.

waiting to see dr. randy....

big brother hardy gamin it up

yes i'm the crazy mom that is always taking pics :)

St. Patricks Day at the Cabin

2011-05-01T16:01:00.006-07:00

We have officially outgrown the cabin. Every year in March we go to a cabin in Oak Creek Canyon with my Mom & Michael & Cass & his family. This was our last year, sniff sniff. You can only have 10 in a party & we are now at 12. It is such a beautiful place & we had so much fun & have lots of wonderful memories. Not to mention our all night traditional monopoly games (which by the way the deckers always kicked booty at! :)) . I'm sure we will visit on our own with our little families when our kids are a little older & we dont have to worry about them falling off a cliff :) haha.

This year we celebrated St. Patrick's Day while we were up there. Jess & I were all excited for all our green food & treats... well, let's just say the kids didn't touch their GREEN mac & cheese or their GREEN pancakes. Oh well, it was still fun & we'll brainwash them soon enough to look forward to green pancakes & green mac & cheese :) I didn't get a pic of all our fun holiday stuff but it included green pancakes for breakfast, green mac & cheese, cucumbers, green grapes, shamrock bisquits w/ green sprinkles & green apple juice for lunch. That morning the kidos woke up to a cute shamrock trail leading to a little pile of treasures (choc gold coins, fruit striped rainbow gum, a leprochaun ticket for 1 free ice cream cone & couple other cute goodies).

all the kidos on the cabin couch

ice cream cones in sedona on our way out of town

cute kallie girl, she took a little dive in the river on our hike & had to sport hardy's sweater

and our fearless men got up early thursday morning & went hiking....

what studs

sad to not be going back next year but excited to start a new tradition & make some more fun memories.

Poser

2011-05-01T15:53:00.002-07:00

as of lately hardy has been a bit of a poser. he gets really excited for me to take his picture & he tries to do all these funny poses. its really comical to watch.

birthday girl

2011-05-01T14:51:00.005-07:00

i love birthdays.

i love all celebrations.

this year i spent all week celebrating my birth :) not to mention i had lots of people making me feel special.

i probably gained 15 lbs but it was awesome!

let's just say on the day of my bday i ate out breakfast, lunch & dinner all for free!!

by dinner i was on the brink of throwing up but my husband didn't mind eating my free dinner for me :)

i thought i'd share my list of birthday freebies for those who are interested. there are more free things out there but these are the ones i think are worth signing up for. i didn't want a bunch of junk email going to my email so i created my own birthday email for my hubby & i. that way we can check it when we want some coupons or each year when we want all our bday freebie stuff. so, if you are like me & love bdays this will make your bdays even better & cheaper! and if you are not so fond of bdays here are some reasons to help you get excited!!

week of your bdAy:

fuddruckers free hamburger (sign up for their email list for a free bday hamburger) you can use this the week of your bday.

Rubio's: free meal up to $7 (sign up for their email list) - you can use 1 week before or 1 week after your bday

Souper Salad: Free lunch or dinner (sign up for their email list) -you have 1 month to use

Sonic: Choice of Free medium tots, regular cream sluch or medium drink (sign up for their email list) - you have a couple weeks to use

Old World Market: $10 to use as you'd like (sign up for their email list)

Baskin Robbins: Free scoop or Swirl (sign up for email list) - you have a couple weeks to use

Buffalo Wild Wings: Free Dessert (sign up for email list) - you have a couple weeks to use

Columbia Sportswear: 20% off your entire purchase (sign up for email list)

day of your bdAy:

krispy kreme (free dozen glazed) - just bring in your license

joe's farmhouse grill ($10 towards your bill) - just bring in your license

liberty market ($10 towards your bill) - just bring in your license

joe's bbq ($10 towards your bill) - just bring in your license

coldstone creamery (free ice cream) - sign up for email list to receive coupon

did i mention that my hubby made me this cake???! if you know my husband you know how impressive this is! he does NOT cook. he even made the icing from scratch. i'm such a spoiled girl.

thank you to everyone who made my day/week extra special!! xoxo

Costco

2011-05-01T13:18:00.002-07:00

i love costco. for many many reasons... their fun boxes being 1 of them :)

boots & big boys

2011-05-01T12:51:00.003-07:00

this is hardy in all his glory. it doesn't get much better than playing in the backyard, putting weeds, sticks & rocks in a baggie & cruisin big boys & boots.

the simple pleasures of life :)

My little Fishy

2011-05-01T12:42:00.004-07:00

A couple of months ago I found a great deal for Aqua Tots on Groupon. If you don't know about Groupon you have got to check it out. I am all about bargain shopping & Groupon has a ton of great deals! Anyways, Hardy was able to take a month worth of lessons at Aqua Tots & I'm so glad he did. I haven't had him in the water enough so he is not to keen on the pool. Except for the fact that I had to peel him off me every time we got there he did great! I was really impressed with how fearless he was. Swimming was always one of my very favorite things & I'm really hoping my kids will feel the same way. I'm excited for this summer to get here so that my boys & I can live in the pool!

Snow Day

2011-05-01T12:19:00.004-07:00

yes, i am so behind on my blog but determined to catch up :)...

A couple of months ago, I want to say in February I loaded up the boys & headed to Payson for a Snow Day. It was so much fun!! I knew that the boys would love it but I had no idea how much. Hardy seriously played in the snow for HOURS. Good thing pappa was a good sport because there is no way I would have lasted outside that long. Both of the boys LOVED eating the snow. I'm thinking next year we will make some homemade snow ice cream or snow cones!

My mom has a cute little swing on her front porch for the kidos so Cole got to be in on the action as well. That night we roasted marshmallows & made smores in the fireplace. It was awesome.

this is the beautiful view we had as we were leaving the valley heading to the snow covered mountains... i do have to say the drive was a little scary so i'm definitely glad that i dont have to drive in snow very often!

it takes a village....

2011-04-29T12:42:00.004-07:00

i'm grateful for my little "village" of helpers in raising my kids. we are surrounded by family & friends who love my kids & teach them things that I can't. we have also been so blessed with AWESOME Sunday School Teachers & a Preschool teacher who give their all & make time away from mommy a special time. here are some of the treasures Hardy has come home with...

Pumpkin seeds & Flowers

from Miss Shari (preschool) & Sis Woodruff (sunbeams)

Goldfish from Sister Woodruff (that all slowly died off within a few weeks at our house, oops)

lady bug hat from Miss Shari

Thank Goodness we have all these amazing helpers! We sure can't do it alone :)

Arrrrrghhhh, matey!

2011-04-28T21:28:00.002-07:00

so lets face it... there comes a time when your children start noticing little things about you. for example.... a few weeks ago after breakfast hardy & i were sitting on the couch chatting & he said, "mommy, you look like a pirate!" i was like WHAT?? um yes, he would be referring to the smeared eye makeup from the night before. i totally started laughing & said WHAT you little stinker... that of course gave him the perfect reaction so every once in a while since then he will get a big smile on his face & say, "mommy, you look like a pirate". ah, the joys. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-04-10T15:50:00.003-07:00

this year we did vday a little different... we did it w/ our boys & i actually loved it! we did our little sweetheart date a few days before valentines day & then on valentines day we ordered a HEART shaped pepperoni pizza from Pappa Murphy's with a S mores pizza for dessert! it was cheap, easy & fun!

hookers

2011-04-07T15:50:00.002-07:00

not the best thing to hear coming out of your 3 yr old's mouth....

"Mom, we need to get some hookers".

blahh haaa!

Of course he meant the things that hook trains together! What else could that possibly mean?? :)

Cole's 1 year Photo Shoot

2011-04-06T21:58:00.007-07:00

My friend Amy took these pics of Cole & did such a great job! Check out her blog here.

Look at my cute big 1 year old...

this boy loves to:

dance... if there is music anywhere close he is bouncing up & down

EAT... holy cow. all day long he is doing the sign language sign for food.

chase after his brother endlessly all day long

walk around blurting out DAH DAH DAH

play on the couch (i think his vision of heaven is a giant couch he can play on)

climb up the slide & give mom a heart attack every 30 seconds

climb on chairs & bounce up & down & give mom another heart attack

jump on the trampoline with his big brother

get a big mouth full of water & then open his mouth & let it dribble out everywhere

pretend everything is a phone

eat mangos

get out of bed immediately upon waking

use a burp rag & pretend he is blowing his nose or put it up to my nose & wipe mine :)

book it for the stairs any opportunity he has

his daddy. i can never get the happy squeels out of cole like his daddy can

to play hide & seek

watch mommy put on some music & dance it up... this is where i get his biggest smiles

this boy is now:

sharing a room with is big brother

WALKING!! (took his real 1st step on St. Patty's day at the cabin)

getting into everything in the house imaginable

using his sign language: food, more & all done

growing CURLY locks (not crazy curls like big brother just cute cole curls)

still in the 95th% for height

this boy does NOT like:

avocados

green beans

his brother getting all up in his business

getting redirected (i feel like i'm doing this to him all day!)

sitting still in church

and by the end of the shoot his face was blue from gumballs... um, oops didn't think about that :)

i know, i know... adorable :)

Cole's 1st Birthday PARTAY!

2011-04-05T15:24:00.015-07:00

WHAT???? My Baby is 1!!!

I can't believe its been a whole year since this little dose of sunshine came into our lives. He is an absolute dream. I find myself staring at him & smiling & thinking how did I get so lucky. He is a joy to have in our home & we love watching him grow. I miss him when he goes to sleep & I cant wait to see him when he wakes up.

I know, I know... A 1 year old isn't going to remember their bday party but the way I look at it their 1st birthday is when WE get to celebrate how happy we are for having this boy for the last year!!

Happy Birthday Cole! We are SO lucky you are ours.

We celebrated this boys birth all week long. We started off the week before his bday with a Decker Family bday party. It was combined with his cute little cousin Asher. They are 2 days apart so we thought it'd be fun to have it for them both. They are super cute together, it seems like since they were born they have just kind of followed each other around.

Then we left the party decor up all week long & the weekend after that we did one with my family. I'm pretty bummed b/c I didn't really get any pics of my fam but oh well I guess we'll have many more bday parties w/ pics :)

the guest of honor at bday party #2

I decided that the absolute favorite thing of both my boys at the age of 1 is BALLS so, A Ball Birthday it was! As many round things as possible.... Popcorn Balls, Cheese puff Balls, Donut Holes, Malted Milk Balls, Gumballs, well you get the idea :) And its a really cheap easy party too!

For my family party we did soup with ROUND rolls & for Hyrums fam party we did homemade pizzas (round of course)... everyone got to do their own toppings... fun & delish all at once.

round lanterns

instead of balloons cuz you can use them over & over!

sir asher & sir cole :)

asher enjoying his yummy cake

and cole doing the same...

yes i have 100 pics of him enjoying his cake :)

my lame attempt at a ball cake

okay so the veggie tray wasn't round but hey we needed something to hold us over until the pizza was ready!! :)

and present time...

mmmm.... homemade pizza

hyrum's brother seth (ashers daddy) headed up the whole pizza thing & he did an awesome job!

coles's cousin isaac

poppie craig

the birthday boys wishing we would let them out with the big kids...

greg, rachel, liz & laura

gracie

mommie alison taking care of all the kidos as usual (love this woman)

it was a fun double weekend birthday bash... on to the next year of fun times with my little man cole.

the birthday boys

2011-04-04T22:48:00.010-07:00

Cole & his cousin Asher are only 2 days a part so we decided to have a little Decker Birthday Bash for the both of them... We thought it would be cute to have some pics of them together for the party & this is how the photo shoot went.... We should have known better :)

cutie cousins

Reese's Blessing

2011-04-04T22:27:00.003-07:00

This little beauty had a beautiful blessing. For some reason my heart was especially full this day. Even though my children were seriously out of control during church the blessing that my brother gave Reese was absolutely beautiful & touched my heart. The spirit was so so strong. What a wonderful gift Heavenly Father has given us to be able to be with our families for all Eternity. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have these special days & memories.

the trimble crew...

and yes, little reese is the outcast with blue eyes... i think she needs to come live with me & my blue eyed boys! oh & did I mention jess made her dress & headband... um, yes she is amazing....and just a little reminder... 4 kids in 4 years baby. this woman deserves an award :)

and our little fam shot... oh the dead stares :)

Happy Birthday Zachary!

2011-03-13T16:37:00.004-07:00

One of Hardy's best little buds/cousins turned 3 in February. Hardy definitely takes after his mamma & loves a good birthday party. He was so stoked to go help Zachary celebrate. It was a beautiful day & we loved spending some QT picnic style with Hyrum's fam.

Happy Birthday Zach... We love you!

Jesus wants me for a SUNBEAM

2011-02-24T21:57:00.002-07:00

My little Hardy boy is an official Sunbeam.

This is him with his very own Book of Mormon his first day of primary. He has a little bit of a rough time going in but once he's there he loves it. I cant for the life of me imagine him sitting still for 2 hours but they swear to me he does great. Hardy loves singing primary songs, he loves blessing the food & he also loves to talk about Jesus Christ :)

A little example of something he might say about Jesus is:

(hardy hanging out w/ Aunt Lizzy & baby Drew)

Hardy: "Baby Drew doesn't have any hair. Jesus Christ will help him get more hair".

Cute boy.

We sure love our Hardy boy & the sweet strong spirit he brings into our home.

New Year's Eve

2011-02-20T22:37:00.009-07:00

Here comes a new year!

Be always at {war with your vices}, at [peace with your neighbors], and let each new year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin

This was our little New Year's Eve bash with Hyrum's family. We had a fun time with lots of yummy food & fun games. My kids both rung in the New Year with Sparkler's & weren't in bed till 1am. Thats right we are party people over here :)

happy new year's!

haha i just realized that some of these pictures actually aren't from new years but another night that week... oh well you get the gist of it :)

time out....zzzzzzzzzzzzz's

2011-02-20T22:36:00.004-07:00

Meet our Time Out chair. Go ahead & judge if you will but this baby is the best thing ever. It helped us survive the terrible TWO's :)

I can't even remember why Hardy was in time out this day but it was seriously comical b/c within 10 seconds of him being in time out he was out cold!!

Organ Stop Pizza

2011-02-20T22:17:00.003-07:00

We decided to give my dad & sherry a little Mesa culture & take them to Organ Stop pizza while they were in town :). This place cracks me up. I actually really do think its a cool place but man there are a whole lot of grandpas & grandmas in that place & they sure can get grouchy/competitive for a seat!! Its always a little too crowded & crazy for me but the kids LOVED the organ. We had to take Hardy out kicking and screaming. Maybe he'll grow up & work as the organist at Organ Stop. Haha.

Drew's Blessing

2011-02-20T22:03:00.004-07:00

Porter & Lizzy & there family have been moving here & there with their new job. One great thing about it is that we get to see them here & there instead of them just living far away permanently :) When they were here over the holidays they blessed sweet little baby Drew. He is such a sweet boy & we are so happy we could share this special day with him. We love you cute little Drew Hyrum Caradine. So happy Heavenly Father sent you to our family.

Train Heaven

2011-02-20T21:39:00.003-07:00

And another fun December tradition we started this year was going to look at the trains.... Lizzy, Porter, Brayden & Drew even joined us. There are several locations of homes all over the valley that set up elaborate train displays. The one we went to was AMAZING. A bonus was they had Santa there and also hot cocoa & goodies!

Tempe Boat Parade

2011-02-20T21:31:00.004-07:00

We tried a lot of new fun things this year & this is one we will definitely be doing again & again! One thing we love about AZ is that our Christmas weather might not be snowy but it is BEAUTIFUL!! We walked all up & down Tempe Town Lakes waiting for the boat parade to start. The weather was perfect. The little boys loved the boats all lit up & of course the fav was the Lightning McQueen one.

Christmas Day

2011-02-20T21:08:00.006-07:00

Christmas Day was awesome. We slept in & then took our time opening up presents. The boys loved it. We had apple cinnamon German pancakes for breakfast, Omie & Pappa stopped by to visit & then later that day the Trimble family along with my Dad & Sherry came over for dinner. Seriously such a great Christmas.

Santa's Bench

Cole's Santa Gift

Hardy's Santa Gift

the ball bopper was an instant hit

Hardy wasn't too thrilled with the computer until we hooked it up :)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve with the Trimble Family

2011-02-20T18:05:00.007-07:00

We had our little Trimble family get together at my house this year. My dad & sherry were in town & it was wonderful to have them with us. We had our traditional breakfast for dinner (pancakes, well its supposed to be waffles but I was too lazy :) & strawberries w/ whipped cream, & eggs). Hyrum read the Christmas story in Luke & then of course we opened our matching pj's. Unfortunatley I dont have any pics of all of us in our jammies so I'm gonna have to call Jess & get some b/c Christmas isn't Christmas without our group jammie photo.

Christmas Eve Photo Shoot

2011-02-20T17:37:00.005-07:00

On Christmas Eve before my family came over for our little get together I asked Hyrum to take a few pics of the boys by the tree... This is what we got :) I decided I wanted ALL of these pics in our Blog Book to remind us how busy our 2 cute boys are and how IMPOSSIBLE it is to get a pic of the two of them :)

Christmas Eve Eve party w/ the Decker Fam

2011-02-20T17:26:00.004-07:00

A few pics from our fun Christmas Eve Eve party with the Deckers. It was at Rachel & Greg's house & fun as usual. We had lots of yummy appetizers & desserts, had a speed tournament that my hubby by the way WON and our annual gift exchange. I'm not very on the ball with pictures these days. It seems I'm either holding a child or chatting away :) But at least I got a few snapshots for our book.

juicing and MORE juicing

2011-02-20T16:46:00.003-07:00

So the day before Christmas Eve my husband shows up with the ENTIRE back of his truck filled with these beauties.....Hyrum's parents have a lot of trees & it's become a fun Thanksgiving/Christmas tradition for us to juice until we cant juice any longer :) Last year Hyrum's sister Maren was his helper but this year I had to step up to the task. Hyrum forsure did the most work but I have to say it was actually pretty fun & did I mention we have frozen grapefruit juice coming out of our ears???

happy birthday Omie!

2011-02-20T13:08:00.004-07:00

We love our Omie. Happy birthday Mom!

My baby

2011-02-20T12:35:00.005-07:00

I adore this child.

My heart literally hurts when I think of my kids growing up. Yes, it is so fun to have them get bigger but I want them to myself forever!! My poor daughter in laws, right?? :)

love my little side kick

Let the festivities begin....

2011-02-20T12:24:00.002-07:00

We usually pull out our Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving but if I remember correctly it was a bit too chaotic this year so I think we did it that Saturday. Anyways, it is always so much fun to get the tree up first. Hardy was so excited!! He even got to put the very first ornament on. And of course cute little Cole sat and watched us but we had to keep him locked in his high chair because he couldn't quite understand why I didn't want him chucking the ornaments everywhere :)

yay!! its christmas time :)

All aboard....

2011-02-20T11:57:00.003-07:00

this is what happens when i ask hardy to set the table.... a chair train :)

cute boy.

Independence

2011-02-04T14:30:00.003-07:00

Cole has arrived at the age of independence. He now realizes when someone takes something away from him, when mommy picks him up & moves him somewhere else, when he gets fed something he doesn't want & when he is heading for his bedroom which means nap time or bedtime. It is soooooooooooooo cute watching him come out of his shell & voice his independence. Sometimes when I move him from one area to the other he wont sit down nicely for me :) He stretches his legs out & goes limp like a noodle. It is hilarious! Its like he's saying to himself I'll show her! There is no way I'm sitting down. Hardy & I are always cracking up when he does it. Then he usually sees us laughing & starts laughing himself.

When he is done eating or doesn't want what I'm feeding him he'll get a big smile on his face & stick his tongue out so that I literally cant get anything in his mouth & now instead of waving sweetly when we are heading to bed he shakes his head no & flails his body around a bit to let us know he does not want to go to bed! Once we are in his room if he's not sleepy he will just stand there & point to the door. It is seriously comical to see how smart these little ones are. If he gets "freed" from his crib & we head out the door he instantly gets a huge smile & starts smiling/laughing. Yes, he knows how to work his mamma! :) He is still our sweet little Cole but its super cute to see the stubborn streak displaying itself. 1 year just around the corner for this boy. If I could only hit the pause button!!

big boy

2011-02-04T11:54:00.003-07:00

it is so crazy to have your little boy start talking like an adult. hardy's been doing this for sometime now but every once in a while the things he says just crack me up.

this is a little convo we had today:

Mommy: okay boys, when we get home we are going to have lunch, play for 20 minutes & then its time for naps.

Hardy: i don't think thats a good idea mom.

HA!!