Waiting for Spring

In Utah the weather likes to play mind games with us.  All week it will be beatifu then bame we get snow.  I'm pretty much expecting this until mid June again... Yes last year we were getting Snow all the way until June.  It seems all winter it's just been blah.  No snow nothing.  Now that we have Spring on the Horizion the weather is being fickle again.  Last week was just one of those weeks.  We got snowed on pretty good.  We were feeling lazy and didn't get the driveway shoveled.  And my little sister got her car stuck in our driveway when she came to drop of her daughter to be babysat.  Now I just feel bad for being lazy. 

She had one guy trying to push her out when another one stopped with a tow rope and pulled her free.  So while watching Three kids I decided to do the nice thing and shovel the driveway so she wouldn't have to get stuck again.  Of course the weather was warming up and would have proably melted by the time she got back but I didn't want to take the chance.

Plus we had so much fun shoveling the driveway and then playing in the driveway on Gavin's new bike. 

Zack makes me laugh.  I love that we have just the right slope to our driveway that he can get some speed but still be safe.  Next time he will be wearing a helmet though.  I'm so bad with that... plus I wasn't expecting to have him riding down the driveway. 

Kairi wanted to go the park and I wouldn't let her... she was not happy with me. 

Gavin got in on the fun of riding the bike, but big brother was always there to help push him or slow him down.  I love that they play together so well!  And Zack really is such a good big Brother to Gavin.

My baby is 2

It took me 2 days to get all the pictures I wanted uploaded for this post!  Thank you Blogger for making things easy.  If anyone has suggestion for an easy way to upload let me know. 

Okay now onto the post...

Seriously I can't believe that my Baby is 2 already.  Time really does fly by.  Gavin is getting so big and SO independent.  Just the other day I bought him new shoes and he would not wear them.  When we finally got them on him he just screamed.  Not because they hurt his feet but because he did not want THOSE shoes.  We eventually returned them and got a different pair that he picked out.  And he wears them every day.  We are officially done with the Binkie as well.  Can I get a Halleulah?!  We did a day or two relapse when he found a binkie at Grandma and Grandpa's house but that was quickly hidden and he hasn't asked for it since. 

This year for Gavin's birthday we invited just family again.  Winter birthdays are hard because we don't really have the room for a ton of people so small parties is what he'll get.  When he's older we will definitly have a friend party. 

For Gavin's actual birthday activity Deanna and I took our kids to the The Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.  It was so much fun!  The kids had a blast running around and looking at all the dinosaur bones.  Not sure which was their favorite part.  Zack seemed to really like the water part where he got to play in the sand and the water and build islands with trees and dinosaurs on it.  Gavin not so much, he hated his hands getting dirty.  Gavin and Kairi did seem like they liked the dinosaur that you could build your self.  The parts of the dinosaur had velcro on it and they had fun there. 

Picture with the boys and I.   Thought it fitting to get a picture of the Utahrapor... since we live in Utah... LOL.

Gavin with the head of the dino that you can build yourself.

Zack playing in the sand... Gavin not so much.

I just found the bones very interesting.  I've always liked seeing the dinosaur.  It's fun to imagine them alive.  All in all we had a really good time.

For Gavin's party we a Dr. Seuss themed party.  It was very fitting since Gavin was born on Dr. Seuss's B-day!  I found so many cute ideas for Dr. Seuss party.  In the end I went with Red, Blue and White for the colors... very 4th of July but the blue was light enough that it was fun!  I made Cat in the Hat hat's for each family member and tried to have a hat for each kid that came.  Food we had: Green Eggs and Ham (of course), Baked Potato Bar, Pasta Salad, I made a Pretzel Salad but forgot to put it out for anyone to eat...oops, Goldfish, Thing One or Two Cupcakes topped with blue cotton candy and marshmellows dipped in chocolated then sprinkles.  It really was a lot of fun.  I should have done some games but it's hard with such young kids and then all grown ups.  We Ate, Sang Gavin Happy Birthday and Opened presents.  All in all it was a fun night.  I'm really glad that everyone was able to come it was fun to get together with everyone and Gavin loved everything he got, even if he just threw the clothes.  LOL.

And now pictures from the Party

Birthday cupcake.

Gavin's new bike.  He's pretty excited to have somewhere to store things as he rides.  Still working on the pedals though.

Happy 2nd Birthday Gavin. Please don't grow up too fast. 

 

and on that note I'm going to go cry... my baby can't be two!

Never to early to learn

I'm not really big on new years resolutions because I feel that sometimes you just shoot too high. Plus we should be constantly making goals and hopefully acheiving them!

So my "Not" new years resolutions or my goals for this week is to be a better mom to my boys. With my new job position at work I wont be at home most of the day with them. So the days that I either have a day off or home for a good portion of the day I want to make the most of it.

So here is what I have planned.

With Zack I want to start working on some pre-preschool stuff. I've seen a lot of stuff on pinterest on homeschooling and fun things to do with younger kids who aren't in preschool yet. I want to make learning fun for him.

This week we are working on M is for Monster. I'm not really focusing on the letter because there will be some weeks that we aren't working on letters and I don't want the pressure of having to find activities each week that focus on a particular letter. That may change but right now we are just testing the waters.

This week I found learning packets on two websites: 2 mommes teaching and Our little monkeys, I kind of picked and chose which activities would be best for Zack.  I decided to work with Zack during Gavin's naps (which hopefully lasts a bit longer) so I could focus just on him right now.  Don't worry I still work with Gavin on things but right now he's content on just having me read books to him. 

Zack really had fun.  But the most fun was when I pulled out the play doh that I made for him.  And to top it off Deanna came by after work (to pick up Kairi who was sleeping) and played with the play doh too.  I decided to work on one subject each week and hopefully have a new activity or something to do with the theme for that week.  Tomorrow we are going to make Felt Monster!  I love on the Our Little Monkey website she has links on other fun activities for the Monster theme. 

As with most of posts I just can't help not adding some pictures. 

Zack working on drawing lines.  Not sure the point or if I'm doing it right but I guess it teaches him to follow instructions and eventually when we start working on writing letters it helps him with the curves and lines.... Either way he really enjoys it.  Plus I put it in a sheet protector and he uses dry erases markers so it's totally reusable!

All the things I found on the website.  Such great resources!  And as long as you use them for personal use it's free.  My kinds of kits!

Stolen from facebook - Deanna's Monster creation using the play doh that I made.  Monsters in the swimming pool.  Guess who can't wait for Summer.

2011 Wrap up

Well 2011 is officially over. We had some ups and downs but nothing major. We are all happy and healthy and that's all that really matters.

Kids are both growing like weeds.

Gavin still has his binkie (it's going to be a tough road getting ride of that thing!). He's definitly becoming his own little person. He'll repeat pretty much anything we ask him to say. It's starting to get easier to understand him even though he still ugg's at us a lot. But we are understand the difference uggs. LOL. His most used word right now... MOW. Which really means NO. And I'll tell you he sure uses it alot.

Zack is Zack. His biggest challenge right now is sleeping in his own bed. I know it's totally our fault for letting him sleep with us in the first place but we are working on getting him in his own bed... hopefully soon! Zack just makes us laugh. He's starting to use his imagination so he plays cops and robbers, builds forts and is always asking questions. He loves to play on the Ipad and computer (so does Gavin). It's so funny because when I get on the computer or Ipad he trys to give me a time limit because he only gets to be on them for a certain amount of time. Zack also started Soccer this year (more pictures and hopefully a post later). We aren't sure if we'll try Soccer again or just wait until T-ball.

Bob is still working at Crown and he's doing great. He's now a mentor for new employee's and has been given an Apprentice. He really enjoys his job and is doing well in it. Bob has a calling in our church as the Stake Men's Sports Coordinator, it's the perfect job for him because he loves being involved in sports and it's a great program for him. He is just in the process of trying to rebuild it. Slowly but surely.

I am still working at BB&B and loving it. It's a great company to work for and I love all my co-workers. It's the first retail job that I've worked for that you know everyone and have fun working together. The managers are awesome and I really just enjoy going to work. I've been given an opportunity to be the Trainer at my work. I will train new hires, give university classes to employees, I'll be in charge of Bridal Registry's and so much more. I'm excited for the new position. It's a full time position (35 hours) so I'll miss being home with the kids most of the day but Bob's parents will be with them so they will be with family. Bob's mom use to be a teacher and I can already see her working with Zack on his counting, spelling (or recognizing letters) and such. My hours will most likely be mid days so I will still have a few hours with them in the mornings and I'll be home for them to go to bed. I hope it works out for our family. The money will be much appreciated. I am also the 2nd Counselor for our Ward's Young Women. It's a fun position and I enjoy planning the activities for the girls that I am over.

We are excited for 2012 and whatever it will bring.

Some things that we are excited for:
Possibly getting a new(er) car. Trying to decided if it's worth fixing our car or getting a new(er) one.
Bob and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary!
Planning a trip to California with the kids. Really want to go to Disneyland and possibly California Adventure.

Elf Yourself

Presenting Zack and Gavin and their two cousins Tyler and Kairi doing a Hip Hop dance as Elves.

Sorry for the lack of posts since Halloween. I promise I'll try harder :)

Halloween 2011

Well  figured I better get my Halloween post up before it's Thanksgiving.

We had a really fun Halloween this year.  Zack is old enough to understand Trick or Treating and he even helped pick out his costume.  I love making the boys their Halloween costumes.  It will be a very sad day when they want the store bought stuff.  Yes I know it will be easier but the store bought costumes are so cheaply made... blah!  Oh well. 

Zack wanted to be a Zombie.  How does he know what a Zombie is you ask?  I blame Disney Chanel.  Okay I don't blame them but I think he saw a episode of Shake it Up with some Zombies on it.  But when we were looking through Costumes.com to get an idea what he wanted to be he always chose the Zombies.  He even had me print them for him. Ughh.  I had huge moral issues with having my three year old son dress up as a Zombie.  All the costumes had blood and gore on them.  Eww, I know I'm such a Mom and a Girl!  So I convinced Zack to be Frankenstein.  Come on he's the ultimate Zombie!  Plus I found some really cute ideas on pinterest on how to make a Frankenstein hat.  Plus I like having the boys dress up as a theme and I figured if Zack was Frankenstein; Gavin could be Igor! 

So Zack was Frankenstein

And Gavin was Igor

Our Halloween Activities:
Ward Halloween Carnival.  This year the Young Women were in charge which meant I was involved.  Zack had a good time, Gavin still wasn't 100% on board but he did get candy so that was a plus.  The Carnival was nice because it was on the Tuesday before Halloween so we didn't have to do Ward stuff then try to fit family stuff in as well.  It was also nice to change from the Trunk or Treat to just visiting a few rooms and playing games.   Yes less candy but more fun... right?  I hope people enjoyed it, I know it was a change but change is GOOD.
I didn't get any pictures because I was involved in the whole thing.  I'll try to find some pictures from anyone who had a camera.

Family Halloween Party.  Deanna hosted this year's Halloween party for our family.  It was fun!  We ate super yummy food.  Deanna totally was a rock star with the desserts.  Played a really fun Scavenger Hunt (even though it was suppose to be in the daylight but ended up being in the dark it was a blast).  And just hung out with family.  Which is really is truly the funnest part. 

Our Family of Monsters




All The Waldo's. 

Yummy Food

Gardner Village with Friends.  It's becoming a tradition to go to Gardner village with our neighborhood friends.  This year we went right before Halloween.  I had to work and others had things to do in the afternoon so we met at 10:00am.  It was nippy so we didn't dress up.  By Noon when we left it had definitely started warming up.  It was fun walking around looking at all the witches.  We have a fun group of friends, and I'm so glad that all our kids are close in age and get along so well. 

And finally Halloween.  At 4:30 we visited Bob's parents at their house to show them the kids costumes.  About 5:15 we visited my Dad's to trick or treat and show off the costumes.  About 6ish we got home and ate Dinner.  About 6:30 Bob took the kids trick or treating.  About 7:30 we headed to my mom's house to show off costumes and trick or treat on her street.  About 8:30 we visited my Grandma to show off the costumes.  By the end of the night we were EXHAUSTED.  Sorry family but next year we may just stay home and trick or treat in our neighborhood.  If anyone wants to see the costumes they'll have to come visit or wait for pictures.  Love you all but dragging those two around was a lot of work. 

 Trick or Treating has begun!  Mom almost forgot the camera, had to run home to get that photo-op.



 Pictures aren't in front of our house but as mentioned I forgot the camera and ran back home to get it.  So this the best I could do.  Love these little boys!

 I love this picture of  Gavin because it truly shows his hump.  He's not looking at the camera but one picture that he actually looks like Igor... I'll take it!

So that was our Halloween.  It was a lot of FUN!

Oh and for future reference, Halloween weather was AMAZING!  Didn't even need a jacket.  I believe the weather was in high 50 degree's could have been in the 60's.  Temperatures quickly dropped and we had snow within a week. 

The Great Pumpkin Hunt

Not sure why it's been so hard for me lately to update my blog but here goes a marathon post once again....

It's been a tradition for the kids and I to go with my Mom and Jolene to pick out a pumpkin from a homeowner that grows pumpkins in a field next to his house.  I really like the patch because the people there are really friendly, it's kid friendly and they usually have their yard decorated with cute little photo ops.  This year Bob was able to go with us.  It was fun and challenging all at the same time.  For the middle of October it was really warm.  Bob doesn't do to well in warm weather.  Poor Gavin missed his nap because we wanted to go around the time of his nap.  So we had two grumpy boys with us.  Luckily we got a wagon because it was pretty busy and at first we didn't have one.  But Jolene saved the day and found us a wagon to carry all our pumpkins.  I love the pumpkin patch because you get to search the field for the perfect  pumpkin. 

Zack wanted to find one that was just his size.  And he did find one that was small enough for him to carry.  He loved it!  Gavin was having fun just picking up pumpkins and moving them to a different location.  Surprising... not really that is just SO Gavin!

I loved watching Bob and Zack walk through the field looking for a pumpkin. I hope that Bob will come with us more often, the Boys needs these fun outing with both mommy and daddy.  The family that owns the pumpkin patch also has horses so Zack was very excited to go look at the horses (unfortunetly I didn't go with them because I was with Gavin and Jolene lost her memory card in the field... Boo hoo). 

We did find a great assortment of pumpkins and it only costed us $7!  It was a great deal and it helps a local farmer.