There is Beauty All Around...(at least a bit more now)

We got 2 trees for our backyard! and I love them. I am so excited about them. They make our backyard look so beautiful!
We had my sister and her kids dig the holes for us.

It was really hard to dig in our yard. It is about 95% rock and 5% clay! Water breaks were much needed.

Sam loves his Megan. They chased and played for hours. They loved running around the "obsticle course" the trees made.

While everyone was outside, Ethan enjoyed the quiet to really focus on his Army he was buliding.

It was fun to have them for the night. After the trees were in my sister, Joy and her husband Ben went home for a quiet night without kids.
Joy's kids are so great. We love having them. We played hard and worked hard. Sam and James just love their cousins. They were so excited when they woke up and they were still there.
Megan, Mitch, and Josh all took turns racing up and down our alley with the little ones in the wagon. They loved it. The "magic word" to get them started was always, "blastoff!"

Thanks Hutchins for all you do for us! :)

We also just had our front lawn redone after the failed experiment we took part in about a year and a half ago. We are back to regular sprinklers. I am glad, at least now I will know what to do if something goes wrong....hey, nothing lost and a lot gained. This is our third time on lawn now. We got more of the good stuff and it looks great!

YEAH ME!!!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. It was a fun and memorable one.
Saturday night I was feeling a little sad because Seth hadn't really talked about it so I just figured nothing special was up. Our neighbor was going to hide a bike he bought for his wife at our house, and that kind of made me sad. I thought, wow, all over men are doing things for their wives, but not at my house.
Then when we went out that night Seth said, "Do you generally like to know when I've got you something, or do you generally like to be surprised?" I was stunned. I told him it's nice to know that he's done something for me....and I felt like a pouty little girl! I can't believe I was so dumb to be sad inside and not think that my sweet husband wouldn't do something for me.
So Sunday morning he got up with the boys, like he usually does, and let me sleep in a bit. Well, as most of you who know me well, I did not sleep in long, knowing there was a surprise for me! :) I went downstairs to the cutest, "Happy Mother's Day" from Sam. It's the first time I've had my child say it to me. It really was precious. I will remember that little voice forever.
On the kitchen counter was an animated, talking Mr. Potato Head from Toy Story for me. He was very cute. I was excited. I love my Mr. Potato Heads and loved him. Sweet Seth had found him and of course thought of me.
I thought, wow, that was sweet. So, the morning continued and I took it slow. Then Seth said, "I wish we could read our scriptures together." I thought, wow, I just got up, give me a minute, at least let me eat....
So I started eating, James of course took my breakfast over, then Sam wanted to eat something different and then Seth placed his order...it was getting a little crazy and I was still hungry. Then as I am making Seth breakfast he again says, "Let's read scriptures." I'll admit I started to be really annoyed, and I let him know it. He then said, "you know, Karen, sometimes I say things, but it's not what I really mean."
It took me a second, but I got it. I said a big, "oh, do you mean there's something in there?" (we read our scriptures in our front room) I ran in there and saw the most amazing thing....new Mr. Potato Heads! :) They just came out with a new Buzz Lightyear and Woody for the new Toy Story 3 movie coming out. And he found a new princess I didn't have all the pieces too. I was so excited. It was fun to run around the front room and the dining room finding them and having Sam and James right with me loving that I got new toys. Sam said, "wow, it's so cool!"
Yes, son, your mother is so cool! :)


We then had a great day at church and then a fun dinner with Seth's parents.
It was a wonderful mother's day. I am glad I get to celebrate it now. My children are really the best part of me and I am so grateful for them!

Curling

We went Curling with Seth's hockey team. It was so fun. We love curling. We watched so much of it when the Olympics were on. We don't totally understand it, and we definitely didn't have a clue how hard it was.
We had a blast throwing the stones and sweeping. I never thought that curling was that hard or took a lot of skill, but it does, and sadly, I learned an even bigger lesson. It is hard to stay up on the ice! I fell HARDCORE! I was so embarrassed. I hate when I am the center of attention for something stupid! I of course tried to blow it off, but apparently my head hitting the ice echoed through the rink.
I stayed strong and held back the tears, but wasn't able to finish the game. I had a nasty headache, bump, and whiplash, that thankfully my chiropractor helped me take care of.
All in all it was a blast and definitely something Seth and I will look into doing down the road. Seth says it will be when I'm not pregnant, and definitely when I am wearing a helmet! :)

California...knows how to party!

We packed up the treats, Doritos, and yummy treats and...
We had an AMAZING family vacation to my home state of California! It was a much needed vacation and we made the most of it. The boys are at a great age to travel and sleep wherever so we took advantage of that and house hopped the whole time.
We started by staying with Tim and his family so we could spend a "pre-birthday" day with him and see his kids play baseball/softball. It was a blast and Sam and James loved being at the baseball games and running and playing around.
Sam is definitely at that stage where he is trying to understand the world around him and express what he sees. Taylor, Tim's oldest, was in the dug out with her team and Sam saw her and said, "Oh no! Taylor's stuck in the cage!" It was so cute! There was also a little black girl that was riding a little scooter around that Sam kept chasing. He kept calling her "sister". We don't know why, but it was cute to hear him chase her and say, "Hey, come back here sister!" :)


We then drove down to my parents to celebrate a late birthday with Logan, Mike's daughter. It was fun. Amy, Nate's wife, was there with her girls. Nate couldn't come, but we were glad to have some time with them. Lucy, their oldest, and Sam just fought and fought. They both had the attitude, of, hey, this is MY grandma's house. It was pretty funny, but I think that Sam got a little dramatized by it because he had nightmares the next night where he would cry, "No Lucy, that's mine."
Sunday we got to go to church with my parents and listen to my dad speak. He was just released from his 7 year service as an Area Authority 70. He said he had given over 1600 talks in those 7 years and I finally got to hear one! It was great. I love my parents so much and I am so glad for how they raised me and for the fact that I always knew where they stood and what they believed!
We headed up to Dave's for a dinner/party for Tim. It was fun. I love hanging at their house. They definitely have the model family and home that Seth and I strive for.
We then headed over to Jon's for 2 nights. It was fun to stay there again. We hadn't stayed with them since we were first married. When I called them to see if we could stay with them I heard the boys in the background chant, "We want Sam, we want Sam." When I told Jon to ask them if I could come with him I just heard a pause and then, "We want Seth, we want Seth!" So much love! :) It made me so happy that my family is loved so much! Sam and James had a blast there. Jon's boys are awesome and Sam and James had so much fun playing with them.





Monday we had a great day at Disneyland. We did the promotion Disney was offering of "Give a Day, Get a Day." It was awesome Seth and I were able to go bowling with some disabled people. We had a blast and got a free day at Disneyland for it. It didn't seem quite fair, but we took it and loved it. It was cute to see how in to it James was this time. When we went to Disney world last September we had a good time, but this time he really got it and it was cute. Sam and James were just into everything and I wish we wouldn't have tired out so quickly because there was hardly anyone there.

Tuesday morning we headed back to my parents for a day to just hang out and rest and to get some of Seth's favorite doughnuts! We took Sam and James in for the first time. We usually just have them stay in the car. When Sam walked in and say the display cases with the doughnuts he said, "Wow, it's so beautiful!" It was so cute. Like father, like son! :)

Wednesday we went to the Zoo compliments of Tressa, Dave's oldest. She worked at Sea World last year and for my birthday gave us tickets. We hadn't used them yet and we were so excited to go. I LOVE the Zoo, and so to the boys. We went first thing in the morning and the animals were great. We saw so much action. From polar bears eating carrots and playing in the water, to flamingos running and flapping their wings, to bears trying to get food out of bags and trees, to jaguars pouncing, to pandas wake and playing, to snakes slithering around there cages....it was so awesome. I felt so spoiled.

Wednesday night my parents with Clay and Logan's help watched Sam and James so that Seth and I could have a night out. We always seem to plan our vacations around the Brave's schedule! :) We went to a Padres/Brave's game and had a blast. It was so fun to go out and actually do something, not just running to a movie really quickly. The Brave's won which made it even sweeter! :)

Thursday we headed back to Dave's. We caught Braden's tennis match. That was fun. Then we just hung out with them and played games.
Sam and James LOVED all the time they had with cousins and would always ask if we were going to another cousin's house. It was fun. Sam had forgotten Bryce's (Dave's youngest) name and he was trying to figure out how to ask him his name, so he just pointed to him, looked at me and said, "Hey, what's that?" It was so cute. We all had a good laugh at that and his one track mindedness as he really wanted "cheese toast" (a grilled cheese sandwich) for dinner and only said that for about an hour no matter what you talked to him about or asked him about! :)
Friday we headed to St. George to stop over with some good friend's of ours and celebrate Dave's birthday. It was nice to stop and hang with them and break up our trip. And Saturday we finally got home. It was nice, but sad. It was such a great time that I didn't want it to end....

"HOP"py Easter!

We had a great Easter this year. It was so fun having the boys older and getting more into it. Sam was all about Easter and James followed suit.
We started our Easter preparations/celebrations on Monday with Family Night. We had a great lesson on the Resurrection of Christ. We had fun visuals from the nursery manual that really helped the boys see what we were talking about.
We finally got around to decorating eggs late Saturday night to leave for the Easter Bunny.
The boys loved doing this. Sam got it....and James, well, he tried to eat the color tablets, then drink the dye. It was pretty funny. He got more into it when we added the stickers.







The boys woke up to a fun egg trail left by the Easter Bunny that lead them from their room down to this. It was fun to watch.













Here's a video of the action. It was so cute!

They had a fun time digging through their baskets and discovering all their goodies. It was fun to see Sam moving from thing to thing and playing while James just sat and ate all the candy he could. It was the best morning of his life! :)

Seth and I even got into it!



Here's a bunch of our Easter fun. The bubbles were a huge hit for James and both of the boys loved the growing capsules. It was fun to see the capsules disappear and have animals appear. They thought it was "magic"!













We went down to my sister's house for a "Spring Thanksgiving"....at least that's what it felt like! I wish I would have taken a picture. It was a beautiful meal with my family.
We then had an amazing Easter Egg Hunt. Sam took off and James soon got the idea that you didn't stop to eat each one.




Here we are going through the boy's loot and giving it away. We had so much candy from that morning that we were not about to take any more home with us.

We had an amazing Easter. It was so wonderful to have it be General Conference weekend and hear from our church leaders. It defiantly left a special feeling for a special season.
We are so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. I plan that cannot be frustrated, and a plan that allows each of us to overcome spiritual and physical death thanks to our Saviour and his atonement.

Boy's Room

Last night Sam and James shared a room for the first time. We have been planning on moving them in together so that when the new little one comes the baby's room is open and ready....little did we know it would be now.

James and Sam had a sleep over at my sister's house with her kids this last weekend while Seth and I enjoyed our anniversary. James slept in a big bed and then also took his nap in one. So I thought, why not give it a try. He is so big in his crib as it is.
It went so well. He and Sam are loving it. James more than Sam. They are especially cute in the mornings when they wake up and just play and look at each other.

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday we woke up to this....

It was so nice we just sat outside forever and ever. We watched the airplanes go by, looked for big trucks, watched the cars to by, and rocked our little hearts out.

Today we woke up to this....

I have just one word for you - UTAH!

Sunday Best

I absolutely LOVE my family. I feel so blessed to have the best guys in my life. I have a wonderful husband who puts up with me (and even doesn't seem to mind it!), makes me laugh, and makes me a better person. And I have the two greatest sons in the world who I love to play with, teach, learn, and struggle with.

I just had to snap a shot of my cuties on their new favorite rock. This is their favorite place to sit after church.
Here they are in the their "Sunday Best" and I think they are just adorable.

They are doing great at church. Sam is lucky to have his dad and his great friend, Shane, be his teachers in Sunbeams. And James just started nursery last week and has two amazing teachers, Melinda and Patty, who play with him, give him an actual lesson on chairs, have activities, and sing Primary songs.

I'm counting my blessings....and I am glad to say that my two biggest blessings right now are my relationship with my husband and the fact that I have an amazing ward family with people who are willing and working so hard to teach my children the gospel whilte they are at church!

Cousin Josh

We love going to my sister, Joy's house to play with her and her kids. Sam and James just love their cousins and their puppy, Will.
Last week when we were down there we stayed long enough to play with the older cousins who go to school (Mitch, Meg, and Josh).
Josh is not always the first one to jump up and play with the boys, but this last week he was so cute with them.
It was finally warm enough to play outside so Josh took the 3 little kids (Haley, Sam, and James) and played outside with them. I wish I would have grabbed more pictures. It was so cute. From the sandbox, to the swings and slide, to the trampoline, to the bikes, Josh was helping them along the way. The boys were in heaven.

Here's my favorite thing they did. Josh was having to help each kid on the bikes so he tied them all together and was pulling them. It was the cutest thing ever.
We love you Josh!

Jamesie-James

James is really started to bud. His personality is just beaming out and we love it. He has become such a ham (not that he wasn't before...). We love watching as he gets into things and is really showing preferences. Some of his favorite things right now are balls and skates. He is constantly carrying a ball around, whether it's to throw, shoot hoops, peg Sam, or just stuff under his shirt...
He also loves his little plastic skates. He wears them all day. He can't get both of them on by himself yet, and if he falls he's stuck, which makes it so fun for me, but he loves those skates and goes for them first thing in the morning and right when we get home from anywhere. He'll be on the ice too before we know it! :)

Here's what he looks like most days trying to "carry" as many balls around with him as he can:

Oh look he found another one, I think there's some more room:

That's better....

March 11, 2010

Will always be a day to remember. I started potty training Sam. It kind of just happened. I've been thinking about it due to some wierd events in the past week or so. He always strips now and once he even stripped his diaper off and woke up to a nasty surprize that grossed himself and me out.
I just wasn't sure how to do it, if he'd get it, if I was up to it with the pregnancy sickness and all....well, I guess I am because we did it.
He is doing great and is very enthusiastic about using the potty and getting a potty treat each time (a starburst). Hey, whatever works!
He still hasn't figured out number 2, but I hear that comes....here's to hoping it comes sooner than later.
Wish us luck!

Hockey Sam

It's on! Sam is definitely a hockey player now. He has been going to "Mini-Mights" for a month now and we have seen great improvements! He is so cute out there on the huge sheet of ice buried in massive gear that we had to find special because he is just so tiny. But he loves every minute of it. He is still a little scared when left on his own, but his confidence is growing each time.
It's fun to see Seth interact with him. Seth coaches Sam on the ice while Seth's Dad coaches Seth from the bench. It's fun to watch. From Skating fast with Dad to spinning on his back, to ice angels, to head butts, Sam is getting the whole experience. He is slowly moving those little feet and learning how to hold his stick and hit the puck. Even if he falls he still reaches out to get that puck.

One of the cutest things about the other night was when Sam started to really check out the puck. He picked it up, turned it over, and even tried to bite it. He was a little shocked when he couldn't (due to his helmet).
Sam lets us know when he is done by letting us know it's time to go to McDonald's. Every week after hockey he knows he gets to go to McDonald's, eat chicken nuggets, and go play.
Here's Sam skating, a spin, and ice angel...

Amazing stick handling already...

Longing for Warmer Days

James loves to look out the window. "Outside" was one of his first words and he bolts for the door at any chance. He is definately ready for spring and warmer weather.
We just had to get a shot of him the other morning. So cute!