Liam's Paradise

Yup the new Aquarium opened and there are sharks! Liam had a field trip and couldn't believe his eyes. He was a little disappointed to find out they didn't have any Great White Sharks but I was fine with that :)

Topaz Mountain

My besties (Erin, Brooke and my Mom) and I thought it would be fun to take the kiddos on an adventure this Spring break. It was fun and we found tons of topaz. I decided if I am going to get out of the house with my kids and not feel crazy from chasing Londyn around my best bet is to take them to the middle of no where with no other people around except those who I can trust won't judge. It was very relaxing! Yup believe it or not I left the house with all three kids all day and it was relaxing! 

Frog Grandpa

He is my best friend and has a passion for The Muppets which is totally understandable because they are AWESOME! So we treated him to in my oponion the best movie of the year.

And things like these are why I think The Muppets are hilarious! 

Sweet and Innocent

Sometimes I forget how sweet and innocent my children can be (like when they are fighting or throwing tantrums). These are some of those moments. Love them.

Lego club

Crazy Leperchaun

As usual, the Leperchaun got away. The note mentioned we caught him but he called the tooth fairy to come and help escape! Layla as usual was obsessed with the idea of a little green man. He tricked us by sticking underwear on everyone's head. That little stinker.

Basketball

Liam made his Mom and aunties proud on the court and was quite the little basketball player. Baseball is not looking as promising. At least we are narrowing down which sports to peruse. My favorite moment of his basketball season is when all the first grade boys line up at the free throw line and they would bounce pass it to them and the little boy would shoot. Liam was towards the end of the line. When they bounced him the ball he quickly dribbled it while spinning around grabbed it and woosh! He had the teenage helper boy laughing. My little globe trotter!

Broncos Lose

I got dressed up for the Super Bowl and was almost a fan of NFL. But then they blew it big time and I remember how I hate football season and it was all for nothing. I almost was a "fan" but changed my mind.

First Piano Recital

Layla had her first Piano recital. We were so proud of her. She is such a hard little worker. It was one of the moments as a parent you heart just melts. Grandma Holly is a wonderful teacher and does such a wonderful job of making each one of her Grandkids feel special.

Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve at my Moms and stayed the night. We had our usual fondue. It was a nice relaxing Christmas day with my easy going parents. Which I needed because Londyn was up during the night throwing up. She missed all the Christmas morning excitement but needed he rest. I love having Mom and Paul here. That was the best part of Christmas this year!

My Favorite Birthday Boy

 

He is sweet, he is happy, he is full of life, yet knows how to go with the flow. He is a leader. He desires to be good. He is a peacemaker. He loves to be creative. He is good at reading peoples emotions and wants to help them feel better. He is smart and loves to learn. He will always be fascinated with sharks. He plays from sun up to sun down. He knows how to tease his middle sister. He knows how to tend to his baby sister. He loves to help his Dad. He is our little basketball star. He loves his Aunties and cousins. He is special and he couldn't make his Mom more proud. I love you my sweet boy. You are one of dearest friends. I will love you forever and my baby you will always be.

Christmas Program

Liam had his program. It was really stuffy in there and I couldn't hear anything. But he sure did look cute. 

We DID IT!

I am behind, like WAY behind. This blog is important to our family. I always want to have it to write our memories, joys and even our bumps in the road. The last year pretty much has been a bump in the road. A good bump in the road but definitely something which threw our family out of the loop of family routine. It is safe to say our parenting for the last 7 years was flushed down the toilet. But, we did it! We have our house. We were our own contractors. There was a learning curve but not as bad as expected. Josh and I knew this would be something we would enjoy. Basically, Josh was the contractor and I was the one working with the contractor. He bid everything out, got permits, figured out inspections, lined things out, etc. I did what most people do when working with a builder. Figured out what goes where, colors, cabinets, met the workers here all day everyday, fixtures, etc (what you would expect). It was a full time job for both of us. We couldn't of done it with out the help of those around us. THANK YOU! I am forever grateful for my Dad and his hospitality while living in his home. I am so grateful for my Mom and Step Dad. For ALL their help with our new home and crazy kids. Thank you Dad in Cheyenne for making the trip out here to help with the floors and deck. Thank you Danny and Denise for your help. Danny for helping Josh, Denise for your constant design advice and suggestions. Thank you Summer for putting up with all my second guesses and decisions. Thank you my dear friend Brooke for helping me feel good about decisions I made. Thank you Brad and Janet for holding our hands through out the way. Helping us find a good deal and good sub. Thank you to everyone who supported us. Who told us we could do this and should do this. Who were happy for us. Who believed in us. We have such good family and friends. Good people with good intentions. I love this house, and I am not just being cheesy when I say what I love most about this home is how every corner, every detail, reminds me of someone I care deeply for. I am blessed, so blessed to have all of you.
As mentioned it was a full time job for the both of us. Which meant I wasn't the type of Mom I enjoy being. My love language is with out a doubt quality time.  But there was no time to give. I was on edge, i was disengaged. Getting this house done was a priority and needed to be so we could be back to normal. Josh suggested doing this again, since we have learned so much. I would love to. It was fun, it was interesting, i have ALWAYS loved this type of stuff, have watched my parents and relatives do things along these lines my whole life. Its familiar to me, its comfortable, its fun. But even with all this I need to enjoy being a Mom. I want to do this again, but not any time soon. I realized how important is to simplify my life so I can have parenting and spirituality be our priorties. I can't expect to much from my husband and children in everyday life by over scheduling our lives with things that don't matter because at the end of the day or in a stressful moment we just didn't have energy to do the two things that we should hold dearest to our hearts, our family and testimony. How can I expect them to have patience with each other and be sincere in their relationship with God and getting to know the gospel if they dont have energy to do so. It was ok that we did this. It was worth it. I couldn't be happier with how this journey has gone but i can't have everything and I don't want to. One day I will persue this again but until then I will live vicariously through those around me :)
This chapter is now over. We built our dream house now back to the simple things in life for as long as they are simple. I guess we never know what life has in store for us but until then I am going to enjoy the simple moments. I missed them dearly!