Memorial Day 2014

This year for memorial day we stayed at home in Idaho.  No visiting graves or family for us, and while I really miss those traditions we still tried to make it an enjoyable weekend.

McKay had Friday and Monday off from work so we had 4 whole days of time to do stuff together.  Mostly we just hung out doing whatever odd jobs around the house that either of us could think of.  But we also spent quality time with the kids.  Daddy even thought to dress Jensen up in one of his shirts...  haha

Jensen loved walking around in it and you could tell he thought he was pretty cool

 

We had barbeques with 3 different groups of friends on Thursday, Friday, and Monday.  This is such a great time of year for building friendships and getting to know our neighbors as the warm weather sends us all out into our yards.  Haven't felt this social in months.  :) 

 

Monday we tried to specifically remember the reason for the holiday and spent some time talking to the kids about flags, freedom, and war.  I am sure they got it at ages 2 and 1 ;)

 

 

In the morning on Monday (the actual holiday) we got donuts and chocolate milk and then went for a walk around the river, which is the most beautiful part of Idaho Falls in my opinion. 

While on our walk we stopped and played at the park

 

While at the park two boys asked McKay to come and push them on the swings.  So McKay went over and started pushing them and in the end he spent quite awhile hanging out with them.  They were all laughing so much and had great time together.  At first I was kind of annoyed that he was spending so much time with them while I was juggling our kids and Addie and Jensen were sort of feeling left out.  But then I looked over and saw their grandma sitting in the car while they played and I realized that these boys probably don't have a very great father figure in their life to play with them.  So in the end I was happy that McKay took the opportunity to spend some time with them and I was especially grateful that our children have such a great dad who loves spending time with them. 

 

 

After our walk we headed over to the healing field at Freeman Park to see all of the flags on display for the fallen soldiers from Idaho.  Always such a nice experience to see that many American flags at once, but sad for the reason that they are all there.  So grateful to those who have sacrificed the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of us can enjoy this beautiful country.    

 

 

 

That afternoon we finally pulled out the water table for the kids to play with.  Adalyn has only been begging us to do it for days. :)  They got soaked, but enjoyed every minute of it.  They have used it everyday since then.  The water table was seriously one of our best "toy" investments to date and it wasn't even that pricey.    

 

 

Sorry for the overload of pictures, but memorial weekend this year was one of those sweet family memories that I want to remember for a long time.   

 

 

 

 

 

  

Family Work Time

The last few weeks have been full of yard/project work time as we prep our yard and garden for another summer.  I also got on my minimalism lifestyle kick again and we got rid of/sold lots more stuff from our basement/house.  We got rid of clothes, end tables, coffee tables, play kitchen/toys, lamps, picture frames, unused home décor items... probably should just have a garage sale.  Why does getting rid of clutter make me so happy?! 

McKay's desire to save money + my desire for minimalism = Marriage harmony 

It is the perfect combination for us.  And after 4.5 years of continually looking for a balance with finances I think we are finally figuring things out.  :)

As far as the yard goes we bought a few things and then just made do with what we already had and tried to make it look the best that it possibly can.  And today as I sit here I can honestly say that I do not hate our yard anymore.  yay!  I love our patio and how the lawn looks right after being mowed and I love our brand new tree in the front.  It still has a few more summers till it will be where I truly feel comfortable with it, but I can see the potential and I  am just trying to enjoy the now. 

The last things on our yard list this year is plant our pots with flowers, pay for our half of the neighbors fence that they are having installed, and make our rock pile on the side of our house smaller (basically just throw some of the not so pretty rocks in a neighboring field.  shhh!  don't tell!).  After that we will just maintain for the rest of the summer aka. weed, mow, and water the garden.   

I hope our garden does better this year then it did last year and the year before, but only time will tell.  We planted a week before memorial day and things are just starting to think about coming up.  This year we planted pumpkins, zucchini, bush beans, raspberries (we won't see those till next year since they are just starts), Bell peppers, and tomatoes.  We filled up the whole garden space that we have, where in the past we only planted 1/2 of it so I hope it all turns out.  As my pregnant belly gets bigger I don't think I will be involved in the garden as much.  Luckily McKay already thinks of it as his baby so it is in good hands.

 

 

 

 

Our little garden helpers are loving this spring weather and digging in the dirt and I am enjoying their cuteness! 

Corinne's Bridal Shower

Today I looked through the pictures on my camera and realized that I have quite a bit of catching up to do on the ol' blog before next weekend.  Which will have a million posts in and of itself (weddings x2).  So I am going to be adding a lot in the next week so that I can focus on the wedding posts after that. 

Also just to clarify for everyone out there who may be getting confused by all this wedding/bridal shower talk... 

On June 7th Kajsa's younger sister, Corinne, is marrying Stu in the Draper temple.  Also on June 7th (yes the same day as Corinne's wedding) McKay's younger brother, John, is marrying Sarah in the Salt Lake Temple.  The weddings are a few hours apart.  John is having a wedding dinner the night before his wedding on June 6th instead of a reception and Corinne is having a reception on June 7th the same day as her wedding.  Thankfully it works out that the only thing we will miss going to is Corinne's wedding luncheon (it could have been a lot worse).  Clear as mud?  lol

Anyways a few weeks ago on May 10th my sweet aunts all threw a bridal shower for Corinne and so we drove down for the party.  Guys if anyone knows how to throw a party it is my aunt Jennifer.  She goes all out and the whole party was so fun.  The theme of bridal shower was a Hawaiian theme.  Complete with flower sugar cookies and delicious pudding dirt cups in tiny sand buckets.  Everyone also got to dress up in flowers hair clips and necklaces. 

Of course Adalyn was in heaven with all the girly attention and being able to dress up.  Oh and we better not forget the buckets of candy that were spread throughout the house that she would randomly claim as her own.

 

I loved chatting with some of my favorite family members and eating the delicious food.  Seriously need to get the "dirt" cup recipe it was SO good.  It wasn't just your normal dirt cup with chocolate pudding and crushed oreos.  It had cream cheese, cool whip, and some other yummy thing. 

 

(Corinne's future sister in law and nieces)

 

Although I didn't ask her Corinne's favorite part of the shower was probably the gifts.  :)  Mykelti, Larissa, and I gave her a few special things that we hope she likes. ;)  My mom made her a beautiful quilt. 

 

The other part of the weekend was also spent at my parents house hanging out and working on wedding projects, fixing sprinklers, and helping grandpa cook breakfast.  My kids just can't get enough of grandma's house and thoroughly enjoy any amount of time that we spend there. 

 

 

We are looking forward to next week and all the exciting things that it brings!

 

 

Cheese!

Jensen recently learned how to say cheese! when you are taking a picture of him.  I love hearing his little voice say it so I keep just taking pictures of him over and over again.  :) 

His classic "cheese" face look something like this..

Or like this...

But occasionally he gives me a genuine grin

 

Or when he is filling his diaper he gives me faces like this...  hehe

 

 

Currently Jensen is the exact age that Adalyn was when he was born (16 1/2 months old).  To me he is so not ready to be a big brother since he still begs to be carried around most days.  We have a lot of training to do before this next little one comes.  Like learning how to not run away from mommy in the parking lot and other fun things like that.  16 1/2 months is a hard stage.  I remember Adalyn acting the same way Jensen is at this age and the only way to describe it is wild!  

 

 

20 Week Ultrasound- Baby #3

Last week we had our 20 week ultrasound for baby #3.

McKay had the day off and was able to come as well as Adalyn.  Jensen wasn't invited this time.  I was much less nervous going into this ultrasound then I was with the other 2 ultrasounds that I have had with this baby, mostly because I can now feel the baby moving which is always helpful in calming my nerves.  Everything looked great and we got tons of pictures of our little one.  None of which are digital so you will just have to imagine the ultrasound photo cuteness.  lol 

We opted to not find out the gender this time around, which means I am already looking forward to delivery day with that much more anticipation.  Good thing I have summer fun to keep me distracted.  As far as what I "think" it is, I really have no idea.  All of my pregnancies have been VERY similar except for one feature and that is how I carry the baby in the 3rd trimester.  Adalyn was super high and up in my ribs while Jensen was super low and I could barely walk for months.  So we will see, I am just going to try and keep an open mind for either one.  Because honestly either will be SO amazing. 

Adalyn enjoyed seeing her baby on the TV aka ultrasound, but honestly I think she is just dying for the baby to come out.  She has had lots of friends having new baby siblings recently and whenever we go to visit them she pretty much plants herself right next to the new baby and proceeds to stroke, pat, kiss, hug, etc. the baby.  She has even attempted to lift them, so I can already tell that she is going to be a big "helper".  With Jensen she pretty much ignored him, not in a bad way just in a "I am doing my own thing" kind of way.  I think I am going to miss that attitude this time around.   

As far as prep goes for this baby there isn't really anything to do.  We already got the bigger car that usually goes with having a 3rd child (we bought a Toyota Sienna back in Oct), and we have all of the clothes and stuff that we will pull out later.  Adalyn is in her big girl bed so the crib is ready to be set up for the new one.  I am not decorating a nursery because the kids are going to share their rooms (Adalyn will share if it is a girl, and Jensen will share if it is a boy).  So life in the baby prep department is pretty much non existent which is a good and bad thing.  I am a planner and love prepping for a new baby, but I think our check book will enjoy less prep this time around.  :)

One thing that we do have to come up with is at least 2 names (1 boy and 1 girl), and that is proving to be a challenge already...  Honestly we will probably be taking a few more then 2 names to the hospital with us and then decide on a final name after we meet the little one.  That is how we did it with Jensen and it worked out well.  But I do have a rule that we have to decide on a name within the first couple of hours.  I am not one that likes to announce a new baby to family and friends without a name. 

So right now honestly I am just trying to focus on anything but the new baby so that time will maybe pass a little faster.  Do you think it will work?  yeah probably not, Sept is going to be brutal in the waiting department!  lol  We are just SO excited to meet this new little one.

An Early Birthday Present for Adalyn and Jensen

With summer right around the corner it is that time of year to start thinking about the yard again.  I am not going to lie that I loved the break from the yard this winter and enjoyed doing other things on the weekend instead of thinking about all the help that our yard needs (it doesn't have a lot going for it right now). 

But we ARE excited for the nicer weather now and this year is a little different for us, because the kids can open doors.  lol  No longer does Adalyn have to have me outside with her 100% of the time and the girl is spending the majority of her days out on our back patio and lawn.

Our yard is pretty small and we don't have a fence.  We also don't have a lot of kids toys out there to keep the kids entertained.  The neighbors yards are feet away and thanks to the generosity of our neighbors Adalyn gets to use their swing set quite often which is fun for her.  But they are getting a fence in a matter of weeks so the easy access to their playground will no longer be available. 

As the weather got warmer I started to stress about how we were going to keep the kids entertained enough so that they wouldn't be too tempted to roam the streets looking for more exciting places to play.  Getting a fence is out this summer, as we are spending money elsewhere on the yard.  So I started thinking about what we wanted to get as far as outside toys went.  Hopefully whatever we got would motivate the kids to stay in the yard.  Last summer we got a water table that Adalyn adores and can't wait to get back out this summer.  But this year I wanted to go a little bigger then a water table.  We thought about a swing set of sorts, but really my kids aren't in love with those things and still need a lot of assistance on them.  Adalyn is one of the most cautious children you will meet and doesn't like heights.  So the next item we thought of was a trampoline.  I never had one as a kid but loved playing on them at friends houses.  They are kind of pricey, especially because I wanted one with a net.  But then I remembered that they made smaller ones that are for little kids and they are lower to the ground.  I also looked around the neighborhood and lots of other families had mini trampolines in their backyard and their kids seemed to really enjoy them.

So I talked to McKay and presented the idea of buying a trampoline as an early combined birthday gift for the kids.  Yes their birthday are in August and December, but I really wanted them to be able to use the gift all summer.  So they get it early and then we will just get them a very small gift on their actual birthdays.  Luckily they are young and wont even know the difference.  :)

McKay didn't love the idea of it at first because he knew that it was a good possibility that the Idaho wind could destroy the trampoline very quickly.  But after further discussion we decided that we could be cautious and place it in a protected spot in our yard and the trampoline should be fine.  We shopped around and found one that seemed decent quality for a good price and had good reviews.  

It finally arrived a few weeks ago and we all LOVE it, except for Jensen who wants nothing to do with it.  I think he thinks that I am going to trap him in there.  lol  The BEST thing about it is Adalyn can get on and off of it all by herself.  Good thing because she spends a lot of time getting on and off.  She LOVES jumping on it and it gets a lot of her energy out without needing to go anywhere.  The neighbor kids love it too and it is nice for them to all want to come over to OUR house for a change.  As a mom who wants to keep an eye on her kids that is a very good thing.  We are very happy with the kids early birthday present and are excited for the kids to play on it all summer.  It definitely adds to the level of excitement in our yard. 

The trampoline is an 8ft. one (normal size trampolines are 15ft.) with an enclosure, and Adalyn at age 2 is easily able to get on and off on her own.  It is the perfect size for our 2 little kids and should last them until age 7 or 8 if the wind doesn't take it before then :) 

 

 

 

And even though Jensen wont get on it yet, he like playing with Adalyn.  While she jumps he runs around the outside.

Happy Early Birthday Adalyn and Jensen! 

 

I Feel Like a Good Mother When...

Today I am focusing on the positives/upsides of being a mother.  Being a mother is WAY harder then I ever imagined, but as I take time to enjoy the little triumphs I find that I am truly learning to love the calling.  Here is a list of my feel good mother moments.  Promise I don't do these things everyday all day, but I try my best. :)

I Feel Like a Good Mother When...

-I receive an "I Love You" hug from Adalyn or Jensen
-I make homemade bread and the kids gooble it down like it is a treat.
-I don't complain about the uncomfortable parts of being pregnant.

-I read books to my kids
-I take the kids to the park
-I change a diaper
-I play games with the kids (Jensen is in love with the 'ready,set, go' game.  You say ready set go and he runs into your arms)

-I read my scriptures and pray first thing in the morning, this always helps with my patience level throughout the day
-I avoid being on technology for too long each day
-Adalyn and I play tea party in her room
-I write cute/fun things about my kids on this blog so that they can have a record of their childhood when they are older
-Stay organized and keep an orderly house

-I plan out learning/fun opportunities for us to do each week. 
-I let them have friends over who they enjoy spending time with.

-I pay attention to their personality and try and understand how they are feeling in certain situations.
-I pray for each one of my kids individually
-I make a healthy dinner/breakfast that they love
-I let them have an occasional treat (sometimes they get these TOO often)

-I take cute pictures of my kids
-I snuggle with them after nap time
-I buy things that they need
-I stay happy even when I am exhausted

-When I teach them responsibility and life skills (aka.cleaning)  (They might not love this one, but I know they will thank me later)
-I become a better person myself because of things that I learned from them.

Hope my kids know that I love them, and I think they are pretty lucky to have a mommy and daddy who love them SO much!


Happy Mothers Day everyone!