ABCs

JK can't say much but apperantly she knows a few things.... I know this video is a total 'blagging' post but honestly the girl can't talk, and yet...

Oh and by the way, just to minimize the 'blagging' - how about my awesome puffy allergy eyes? Nice.

Love

Today is Valentines day and I am thankful for the love of my family.

Yesterday at church a man said something that has stayed with me and replayed in my mind multiple times today.

He said that he worried that as his children grew, saying 'I love you" would not be as easy to say to a 14 year old as it is to say to a 2 and 4 year old.

His wife told him that if he said I love you to them each day the only day that would be awkward/difficult would be the day that he didn't say it.

Here's to saying I love you each day to those we love!

Grrrr

I blog for one reason - to keep a 'journal' of sorts for our family. Someday when I am oh so put together and not intimidated by all things techy I will even put books together from this blog to document our family adventures each year. This blog will make it easy for me to create albums for my kids to look back on when they are older and want to reminisce - although do boys reminisce? That is what I imagine at least....

But given the fact that my laptop has died and life (translation = my side business) during the holidays went CRAZY combined with the fact that I feel a great need to do all things in chronological order on this blog and now I am at a loss as far as this blog goes. Because of the dead laptop I can't upload Christmas pictures so I feel frozen - but I am not giving up - I am just going to tell myself that Christmas can be blogged about later and for now I will work with the things I can upload no matter how awful the pictures are - and they are quite awful thank you very much!

So sorry kids - here's to reminiscing over the Christmas that wasn't and the pictures that make you wonder if you grew up in the 70's....

Trey is turning 7

Trey is turning 7! He is getting so tall and becoming smarter with each year that goes by. School comes naturally to him and even though he is working a grade ahead he has maintained all A's this year with not a lot of effort on anyone's part (someday I will have to post about the poem he was asked to work on and recite from memory - not my finest parenting hour - but he pulled that one off for all of us:)) He is currently OBSESSED with all things sports - honestly, I have never seen anything like it. Each morning he wakes up, comes into our room and turns on Sportscenter. This last year he has cried during many football games vowing to never watch football again only to return to it two days later (the Boise State Nevada game was heartbreaking for him - he cried himself to sleep that night). He plays soccor in the fall and spring and basketball in the winter. He reads non stop, his best friends at school are Saad and Patrick. He loves being with the Campbells down the street and if he could be anywhere it would still be with cousins!

Even though we have decided to only do friend parties when our kids turn 5, 8, 12, and 16 - we always celebrate on a weekend and on their actual Birthday in any way they want. Trey chose to go to Birmingham to the childrens museum and IMAX there. Here are some of the shots I was able to get with our flip camera.

The weather reporters:



Everyone's favorite, petting the sharks:
The water center was fun - JK and Toby especially liked it.
The distortion room:
The kids built an arch but couldn't wait to destroy it


Trey loves all things science:


Each kid taking a turn trying to see who was the strongest:



Trey has everyone beat!





Happy Birthday Trey - you changed our life 7 year ago and I have said it so many times, but I will say it again - because of you I know what true joy feels like! We Love YOU!

Giving Thanks

This year we started a new tradition - A Thankful Tree - during the month of November there was a tree in our kitchen (a lovely not so martha paper tree but you get the idea). During Family Home Evening we added to our Thankful Tree by writing what we were thankful for on colorful leaves and then attaching them to our tree. I am learning as a mom that some attributes come naturally to some and not for others. Gratitude is a 'non-negotiable must learn' attribute in my book and so November is a great month to remind us all of the importance of always being thankful.
Doesn't JK look especially grateful here?
Toby's preschool did their feast and I am forever grateful for our preschool and his teachers. They all dressed as Pilgrims for one picture and Indians for another.

For our actual Thanksgiving break we headed to Atlanta and had a great time eating, shopping, eating and shopping some more! Kim is my day after Thanksgiving shopping buddy and we did really well this year. I really don't know what I like better Thanksgiving day or Black Friday.

When the kids were done playing in these leaves Lars set up a pillow pit at the bottom of the stairs at Pa's house. He told the kids that if they cleared their first jump they could move up a stair - ultimately making it so that the below kids were jumping from the top of the stairs all the way to the bottom. I am grateful for no broken bones!

Julia Karen turns 2

JK turned 2! We celebrated with presents and donuts first thing in the AM. She LOVES donuts and isn't too interested in cake or cupcakes yet just like her older brothers (not her mom). We kept trying to get her to open her presents but all she wanted was to stare and eventually lick all the donuts. She is starting to communicate (demand) more and loves to play with her older brothers. She is my little attachment and happily goes everywhere with me - just not the nursery at church (those happy people, snacks and toys terrify her). We are excited for this next year to watch her grow!

A visit and Halloween

a bathtub

a shark costume

pumpkin bars

carved pumpkins

a ceiling fan

another bathtub

homemade caramel

electrical outlets

more pumpkin bars

14 family boards

and homemade truffles

What do all of these things have in common? All of the above were either fixed or made when my parents came for a visit! I am convinced that if we lived closer to them I would no longer live in a fixer-upper and my life would be roses all the time - I have lived across the country from them for 8 years now - so I am allowed to believe what I want.

And life really is great when they are around. My kids were so excited for Halloween because it meant Grandma and Papa would be here - seriously, they were more excited for their grandparents to get here than for the festivities of our Halloween week. But, of course, most or our pictures were taken because of Halloween so here are some of our favorites from the week even if Grandma and Papa are missing from some of the shots