Life is Beautiful

We just wrapped up a wonderful week: Jaron had the week off, and we got to spend lots of time with him!!! We stayed home most of the week, mostly because I needed to study and take a Personal Trainer Certification exam (which I did, and passed! phew!), but we managed to squeeze in a fun camping trip this weekend (fishing, rock climbing, hiking). Jaron also made some serious headway on stripping and staining our deck, and rode his bike a bunch. It was really fun having Jaron be a part of our daily routine--helping the boys get ready for school, walking Mikey to preschool, eating lunch with Spencer at school, and being there to play with when they get home. Jaron commented that he really enjoyed being with the boys at different times of the day, since he usually only sees them when they're tired and ready for bed. I know that they loved having Daddy around too, and we'll really miss him this week when he goes back to work!

Now that my months of studying-every-spare-minute are through, I feel light as a feather, and in honor of my recent light-ening, I vow to post like a mad-woman to get "caught up" on some of our family's highlights from the past several months. Beginning with this gem, which I entitle:

"What Happens When You Turn Your Back For A Second!"

I had just given Trevor his bath and put on his PJ's when I had to run downstairs to take muffins out of the oven. Suddenly, I heard the boys squealing and laughing upstairs, then yell, "Mom! Trevor is playing in the water!" I felt annoyed because I had asked the older boys to close the bathroom door when they went in to take a bath so Trevor wouldn't get in (because he LOVES to splash in the bathwater!). I ran upstairs, ready to reprimand the kids, took one look at this scene, then turned right around to get the camera, laughing to myself the whole way. When I came back in to take pictures of Trevor, he giggled and splashed--so pleased with himself and his cleverness! He's definitely entered the "mischievous" stage, where we have to know where he is and what he's up to at all times! But his cute-ness makes up for the headaches he gives us!

Texas in February...

Still trying to catch up here...Waaaaay back in February, we took a trip to Texas to visit our family and friends we've been missing dearly! (By "we", I mean myself driving 17 hrs straight-through-the-night with our three angels, staying for almost a week, before Jaron flew down to meet us and drive home with us.)

We started out visiting Aaron and Jaimie, whom we've missed SO much! Our boys had so much fun playing with their cousins, soaking up outside weather (since it was Feb, we hadn't been outside without full snow regalia for months!), and getting loved on by their Aunt Jaimie. Jaimie really has a big heart, and a talent for making even little events so special. We were there during Valentine's Day, and Jaimie and Aaron made a scavenger hunt for the kids to find Valentine's goodies. They were sent all around the house, yard and neighborhood before they found their sweet baskets! Thanks so much, Jaim and Aaron, for making that such a special experience! Another highlight was going on a "date" with Jaimie (Aaron was SOOO nice to watch all the kids AND put them to bed!). We spend literally hours at Jason's Deli, eating and mostly chatting--catching up on the lost couple years since we left TX. Growing up, I was always sad that I never had any sisters, but I feel SO blessed now to not only have incredible sisters-in-law, but to have skipped all the cat-fights and skipped right to the friendship and bonding. I love you Jaim!

Jaimie and I before our "date":

Aunt Jaimie making homemade suckers with Mikey:

Dallon, Dawson, Spencer, Mikey, Easton and Trevor at a putt-putt/go-kart place:

(ps--I totally smoked Jaimie in the go-karts, don't let her tell you otherwise!)

Dallon, Dawson, Spencer and Mikey playing at a park:

Our next stop was to visit our dear friends from Med school, the Allred's. Spencer and Carson have known each other since they were 1, and they're such good buddies! This is a waterfall along a beautiful trail that we rode bikes on:

I didn't get many pictures at the Allred's, but I had so much fun staying up way past my bedtime, chatting with Janene. She's an amazing friend and mother, and I'm always inspired to be a better person when I'm around her!

The final stop on our Texas tour took us to Mammy and Pappy's home and Rodeo Arena, where we got to cheer on my hottie husband as he showed a bunch of cowboys what this city-slicker can do! He won his division in a Team Roping competition, bringing home a sweet belt-buckle; an 1847 (I think?) replica black-powder pistol; and enough earnings to pay for his plane ticket! I told him he may want to consider switching professions! He was really awesome! Here's Jaron and me with his team ropin' partner, and their buckles.

The Allred's came to cheer Jaron on (thats Pappy in the background, with Mikey, Tanner, Janene, Jared and Brinley on the bleacher):

Watching Jaron rope was pretty exciting...However, we absolutely LOVED spending time with Mammy and Pappy. They have a way of making us feel loved and having fun with us, regardless of how busy they are (which is usually on the 'extremely-crazy-busy' end of the spectrum). We never leave their place feeling under-loved! And our kids rarely get a chance to be under-spoiled either! They gave Spencer and Dawson be-lated birthday gifts: real "Lil Banshee" bow-and-arrow sets! They were a hit with the BIG "lil-banshees" as well as with Spencer and Dawson!

Thanks for the great memories everyone!!

Celebration of Trevor (be-lated)!

Still trying to catch up...

On January 14, Trevor turned ONE!! He is such a special boy, and has brought so much joy and laughter to our home. His big brothers just adore him. They've loved having him get older and be more interactive. One of the cute things Spencer and Mikey do with Trevor is play "Team Goo" ('Goo' is Trev's nickname), which is basically a "Let's copy Trevor" game, so they'll go crawling around after Trevor from room to room, flop around and giggle like him, making Trevor laugh and laugh from all the attention.

Some of the things we love about our little Trevor are: how he loves to laugh and to get people around him to laugh with him; how expressive he is (a blessing and a curse, depending on which emotion he's choosing to express at the time!); how he cuddles up to us; his affection for his brothers.

Some of Trevor's favorite things are:

1) Balls. "Ball" was his first word. Trev has a 6th-sense (like Mikey did) of knowing where any ball is in the house at all times (we looked all over the house for Jaron's missing juggling ball one night, with no luck. The next morning as I was fixing breakfast, Trevor crawled into the kitchen with the missing ball in his hand--happy as a clam!). And he'll be the first to spot any spherical object in the store, out the car window, or on a walk ("Ball! Ball!")

2) Cars. Trevor loves to "drive" his toy cars all over the floors and furniture.

3) Bath time. I've given up worrying about getting water on the bathroom floor. I just let him splash his heart out (which he does most vigorously!) until there's more water on the floor than in the tub, and then I know it's time for him to get out. Pretty much from the moment I put him in until I take him out, it's an all-out splash fest (which makes washing him quite interesting!).

4) Mama. (and Dada!) But I have to say, this little guy is a Mama's boy. He's recently been giving any one besides Mom or Dad the "stinkeye" if they reach out to hold him. Sometimes Mom and Dad get the stinkeye too if we try to suggest it's bedtime before he's ready (along with a vigorous head-shake "NO"--I told you he was expressive!)

5) Outside. Trevor got a taste of the world that exists beyond the front door when we went to Texas (more on that later) a few weeks ago, and was actually able to play in the grass. Ever since, if he hears the garage or front door open, he makes a B-line from wherever he is in the house (I've never seen a kid sprint-crawl so fast!), and tries to squeeze past our legs just to dash outside. Can't wait till it's actually warm enough for him to play outdoors here in "North Texas"!

We love Trevor so much! Happy Late Birthday!!

Celebration of Spencer!

Since I'm waaaaaaaay behind on blogging, I'm not going to overwhelm myself by trying to recap ALL the fun events I haven't written about. I'll just touch on a couple highlights of winter, the first of which happened shortly after Christmas. On January 3, Spencer turned 7!! We had a fun family party, going to Chuck-E-Cheese and eating a lemon-berry baseball cake (his choice!). I want to make this post a "Celebration of Spencer". These are some of the things that make Spencer such an outstanding boy:

1. He is, and always has been, sensitive to others' needs. He is aware of when others are hurting or sad, and tries his hardest to help them.

2. He is a great example to his younger brothers. He loves teaching them and helping them. He loves making them laugh. Spencer has an amazing ability to motivate Mikey to clean a room or get a chore done (a HUGE accomplishment!) by making a game out of it.

3. Spencer is a good student. He loves to learn, works hard at school, and takes pride in doing good work. He has become an excellent reader. He has also been taking piano lessons (from a not-so-skilled-or-patient mother!), and even though he doesn't love it, he is consistent with practicing and has moments of enjoyment...like playing the "Harry Potter" theme song at a ward talent show recently!

4. Spencer is an inventor! He is constantly building things with legos, blocks, K'nex, Tinker Toys, or scrapwood from the garage. He likes to create little worlds, cars and planes, and "robots". He also loves building forts out of couch cushions and blankets. He seems most fulfilled when he's creating things. He likes to hum to himself while he works, and I love hearing his happy-creating tunes!

5. Spencer is an artist. When he's not building something, he's usually drawing. He mostly draws things that he makes up himself--little characters--and will tell a story about them.

6. Spencer loves to play sports and romp around outside. He loves to ride his bike, play football, baseball, and skateboard.

7. Spencer loves people. He loves to talk and express himself, and he also loves knowing what's going on in others' lives. I've loved this past year of his life because I feel like he's become more of a friend--someone who is fun to talk to and joke with. It is so nice to have him around, especially since Jaron is gone so much. I sure love my buddy Spencer!

8. Spencer continues to develop a love for God. He has a sense of God's love for him, and he has moments of desiring closeness with the Divine.

9. Jaron and I feel SO incredibly blessed to have Spencer in our family! He makes us so happy!

Mikey is a Prodigy

A few months ago, Jaron was hanging out with the kids, quizzing them on math problems. Spencer was answering lots of them, leaving Mikey feeling left-out. So Jaron decided to make the problems harder...and all of the sudden, Mikey became a whiz at math! Spencer couldn't believe that his 4-year-old brother knew multiplication and division problems! Perhaps Mikey had a little inspiration...or maybe he really is a genius...I'll let you decide! I'm sad that I only captured the tail end of the "Advanced Math Games" on video. This had been going on for about 10 minutes or so before the part I recorded.

What You've Been Waiting For

Two mighty "Captain Underpants". Comin' atcha in full force!

We're BAAA AAAK!!

Jaron worked his magic, gave our "unfixable" camera a couple good whacks, and...voila! We're back in business! Way to go Honey! (Anyone need some bones fixed while he's on a roll...?)