What a Krok

Potty Training - Round 2

2012-02-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

It has been a full week now since I started to potty train Atticus. He was probably ready a couple months ago, but mommy was NOT ready to go through that again. Had I known he was going to catch on so quickly I would have tried when he turned two! Atticus has done amazing! Im not sure if its because I know what I am doing this time a little better, or if its the fact he has an older brother to copy, or if he is just super clever. Its probably a mix of all of the above. It was only about 3 days of watching him 24/7 and constantly reminding him that we don't go in our pants anymore we go in the potty. But he hasn't really had any accidents since the second day and it was around then that he started to tell me when he needed to go. I decided this time to put the diapers away completely, even at bedtime, and even that has gone extremely well. As long as he doesn't drink anything after 6 he sleeps dry through the night. It has been way too easy this time and I am so proud of my little Atticus! Here's a little video of him showing off his new undies, and his dancing/singing skills!

Strawberry Orange Pasta Salad

2012-01-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

I have a new favorite salad.

They thought it was pretty good too.

My only alteration to the recipe was adding broccoli, just to make myself feel like I was being healthy.

The kids didn't eat the broccoli but Atticus used it to soak up the dressing and lick it off. That kid just loves to "dip it"

The dressing is what makes this recipe so good! Don't bother making it without it!

You can find the recipe HERE

Back to Church...in Style!

2012-01-24T11:04:00.001-08:00

I am melting right now, I love them in these suits!

We've been kind of inactive this month with all our fun trips every weekend so we finally made it back last Sunday. It was Thurston's first day as a Sunbeam. It's weird to think he is old enough to go to sharing time and be in a real class now! And since I am the secretary in Primary I get the to spy on him whenever I want! He did as good as any 3 year old could do in sharing time and in his class, I know it is an adjustment for all the new sunbeams coming up from nursery. We went to pick up Thurston from his classroom and when he saw the rest of his family waiting for him and realized we were going home he bursts into tears and cries "I wanna go to Nursery!" oh boy.

Goodbye Lisa and Don

2012-01-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

We have had the best start to the year with our first visitors from Australia Lisa and Don. The month seemed to go by way too fast and we felt so lucky to have them for so long, because anything less would not have been long enough. We had one last get together on Saturday with my whole family. Dinner first then smores!

Thank you for all the wonderful memories Lisa and Don, we look forward to your next visit!

Sledding in a Winter Wonderland

2012-01-22T19:06:00.001-08:00

Here are more photos from Lisa and Don's camera that were taken on the day we went sledding. The weather on that first day was crazy! It was snowing in town but it was snowing even more and became really windy the closer we got to the ski hills.

Walking to the sled area was a blizzard! The kids didn't like that part at all.

But once we got past that first part, the hill blocked all the wind and it was just beautiful snow everywhere!

It will be nice when the kids can walk themselves up the hills. Talk about a workout!

Thanks again to Lisa and Don for bringing their camera and making the effort to capture our fun afternoon!

Snowman and Snowball Fights

2012-01-21T20:29:00.001-08:00

These pictures are from Lisa's camera and were taken the day we arrived at the snow. (before the big storm)

Can't Get Enough

2012-01-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the edit Ethan!

Snows!

2012-01-19T13:06:00.001-08:00

We had to take a snow trip while Lisa and Don are with us!

Scenic stop on our way to Pinetop.

The weatherman forecasted snow...and he was right! We woke up on our first day in Pinetop to this...

It was magical! The kids could not wait to get into it!

We decided to go sledding and then drop off the boys for a half day at Sunrise Ski Park. However, the weather was pretty crazy so they decided to come home with us.

Lisa took lots of great pictures sledding with the kids so I will share those when I get them from her. The kids had so much fun and didn't want to leave!

The scenery was absolutely beautiful with fresh snow everywhere.

The next day we had PERFECT conditions for snowboarding! Fresh powder, blue skies, and pretty much the whole mountain to ourselves!

We were lucky to get such a perfect day. The whole trip was amazing and we are so glad we got to share it with Lisa and Don!

Birthday

2012-01-19T12:57:00.000-08:00

I'm catching up with a few posts and realized I never blogged about my birthday! I had a really good one this year made special by lots of emails and messages from all my family and friends. I was also lucky to have Lisa and Don here for my birthday. Ethan had two big surprises for me this year. Here is Thurston playing with my first surprise...

and here's Don and Ethan playing with my second surprise...

Christmas we got a Playstation move, so for my birthday Ethan got me this really fun dancing game. I can't decide if it is more fun to play or more fun to watch!

What Happens in Vegas...

2012-01-08T18:39:00.001-08:00

stays on the Internet! We had the best time with Lisa and Don in Las Vegas over the weekend. I have to start this post by first thanking the Hansens and my mom and dad for babysitting the kids over the weekend, You made this weekend possible and we REEEAAALLY appreciate it! We stayed here at the Excalibur Hotel.

We did lots of walking around just looking at all the different casinos, shopping, and eating out.

We also went to the show KA' by Cirque Du Soleil one evening, rode the roller coaster at New York, New York Casino (which I've always wanted to do and was a highlight of the trip for me) and of course did a little gambling. Another really fun place we went to was Maddam Tuddauds. It was way more fun than I anticipated and although I didn't get very many pictures of the rest of our trip, we got heaps with all our favorite celebrities! It really was hard narrowing it down for the blog!

Thank you for the memories Vegas! We will miss you!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T20:06:00.000-08:00

We had the most wonderful Christmas this year. It started out with our first/best present arriving on Christmas eve! The boys got to open one present from under the tree as well...

We were definitely spoiled this Christmas!

The boys and their toys!

Thurston pretty much spent the whole morning looking at himself dressed as spiderman with his spiderman doll!

Then it was off to mom and dad's house for a family get together where there was lots of food, presents, laughs, and love.

Being around those you love truly make this season the most wonderful time of year!

6 years...

2011-12-18T17:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary to us!

We decided to take an overnight trip to Pinetop. I know we just got back from a vacation, but it was special to spend some quality time just the two of us and celebrate our anniversary. We pretty much got to do all of our favorite things...snowboarding, dinner, movie, and sleeping in! Special thanks to mom and dad for babysitting. It was a perfect little getaway.

Park City 2011

2011-12-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

Our second annual Park City vacation has come and gone already. The first fews days actually had a good pace and then the last few days just flew by way to fast! It was such a fun trip this year for a number of reasons. Firstly because no one was injured! We were all able to enjoy ourselves on the slopes safe and sound this year. As the kids get older, vacations are becoming more and more fun. The kids seem to be more aware and appreciative of 'fun' activities and it is so exciting for us to watch them experience new and different things. This year we were able to travel with my parents in the tahoe. Thurston was all excited that he got his own seat in the back, and he was actually a perfect angel back there all by himself!

It was nice to finally reach the hotel! my super heros....

Since mom and dad had their own unit this year, we had the whole 2 bedroom unit to ourselves. This was the boys sleeping arrangements. Thurston in a king bed and Atticus in a queen, they have no idea how good they have it!

I love this photo of papa entertaining Atticus.

Monday we were straight onto the slopes!

This pictures shows just how close our hotel is to the lift!

Aren't they adorable?!

Thurston takes skiing seriously now

I was totally apprehensive about Ethan taking Thurston skiing and I would have been happy to wait till next year. I voiced all my concerns about his communications skills, his size, his tollerance for the cold, I was a total worry wart. Ethan completely ignored my concerns, he was determined to make it work!

And I'm glad he persisted because they had so much fun! I totally underestimated Thurston. Ethan was so patient and Thurston grasped the concept a lot quicker than I thought he could. Probably helps that kids are so fearless! Ethan was able to harness Thurston with a backpack and a leash so he didn't get too far away but was pretty much skiing on his own. We even went on the big lift and got to ski down the whole mountain together. Now we are excited for next year when we get to take Atticus too!

All ready for the SNOW! (this is how we would dress to go out shopping, so cold!)

Thursday we went to Salk Lake City to catch up with Aunt Linda, have some Lionhouse, and see the Temple square Christmas lights.

Aunt Linda let the boys make LOTS of wishes!

She also brought us a huge bag of goodies including my favorite crocheted hand towels, home made cookies, and the most amazing croissant you have ever tasted from a special bakery in Utah! Thank you for the fun afternoon Aunt Linda!

Ethan and Dad laying in the middle of temple square trying to line up a good shot...

I think they got it!

The kids had so much fun tubing this year

On our last day we went to a tubing place called Gorgoza Park. This is the only way to go tubing! No walking uphill or carrying your tube and the hills are so long!

On our last night, Phil and Kaylee came and stayed with us. We had dinner and then they took us out for the most amazing dessert at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. This place was located in our hotel village and I can't believe I never knew it was there! We also did some Christmas light hunting, and they had us ROLLING with some of their funny stories (ironically they were mostly about church?!) Thank you for the visit!

I could easily do 2 weeks in Park City, one week never seems like enough. Special thanks to mom and dad for providing the transportation this year and Ethan for working so hard all year so that we can do fun things like this. Time to start planning for next year!

Having too much fun....

2011-12-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

The title says it all, I've been having too much fun on our vacation to make the effort to blog. That and I didn't bring the cord to upload photos from my camera. Luckily my mom planned ahead and has done a couple of posts already. Check out her blog HERE. Of course I plan on doing a super long post when we get home, including one of Ethan's signature snow videos, but until then I will continue to take lots of pictures and enjoy the last few days of our blissful week in Park City.

Just when we thought life couldn't get any better...

2011-11-28T17:35:00.001-08:00

I found this locally! For the same price as in Australia! We are beyond excited! I was going to save these for a special surprise for Ethan, like on our anniversary or even Christmas, but I felt bad withholding his favorite drink from him for that long (and because I am starting to question whether or not food is a legitimate gift lol). I've been hiding this in the kid's closet for about a week now, but I figured it would be nice to enjoy them now rather than have to wait. Its amazing how a taste can take you back to so many memories. This is the drink that was always a treat to order when we went out to a restaurant for dinner or a pub to watch footy. For me this drink tastes like Australia.

On a side note, while taking photos of our beloved lemon lime and bitters for this post, I noticed the kids playing nicely in the back yard...

After all the fighting and teasing that they do to each other everyday, it is so wonderful to see them choose to share and play nice together!

Tree Decorating

2011-11-27T08:17:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving is our traditional day to put up the Christmas tree.

Here are the boys posing in some new pajamas

Then it was time to set up the tree!

Loving this time of year!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

We had the best Thanksgiving this year. Not only did I enjoy a huge dinner with extended family, but Lucy and I also competed in the Mesa Turkey Trot 10K race. I have only done this one other time and that was with Lucy, Heath and Kiersten back in 2008. It was hard back then and it was hard this year too! That is largely due to the fact that I never prepare like I should by running everyday, but I ran it none the less. I made a goal for myself to at least beat my time from 2008 (which was 59 minutes) and this year I ran it in 50 minutes and 9 seconds! I almost threw up at the end of the race and I couldn't walk the next day, but such is the sport of running. I kept up with Lucy for about half the race, then around the 4th mile I was starting to hurt and fell behind. I just kept thinking to myself 'I am going to be sore whether I run faster or not, so I may as well go faster and get a decent time!' We love this tradition and can't wait to do it again next year. Here we are about to leave for the race.

On to Thanksgiving dinner. My Dad's family came up from Tucson to spend the day with us and we has so much fun catching up with everyone. There were about 40 people there, half of which were kids!

Thanksgiving day is when all the "Black Friday" ads come out. Ethan and Jessica were particularly engrossed in them.

Wade, me, Megan, Kendra, Lindsay, and Lucy

Thank you again to all our family who made this year's Thanksgiving extra special!

Surprise ruined! :(

2011-11-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting for a certain package to arrive so I could hide it from Ethan. But when Ethan went out to get the mail tonight he discovered my recent purchase and my surprise was ruined. I guess he gets to enjoy this Christmas present early...

You might think it is weird that I would get him food as a Christmas present, but he seriously loves these noodles so much I knew he would appreciate them! I am so disappointed I didn't get to wrap it up and watch him open it! Even though the timing wasn't what I had planned, he was still super excited and surprised that I found a way to order his favorite noodles and get them delivered to our house for CHEAP. One less thing from Australia that we have to live without:)

Updates

2011-11-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

Well I've been totally lame about blogging the last couple weeks. I haven't really been taking pictures and I don't like blogging without pictures. That's not really a good excuse. But a post is overdue nonetheless. I started back to school, taking 2 math classes in a row, which has been taking up a good portion of my time. Been busy with my church calling as well and of course trying to be a good mother to these two rascals.

It seems like we have been making a lot of new friends lately so we have been doing activities with other mothers and kids which has been really fun. I appreciate living in an area with so many young families and lots of things in common. Now that the weather is cooled down we love to be outside and are lucky to have a big backyard for the kids. They love jumping on the trampoline, but for reasons unknown to me, they love playing in the dirt just as much, I cannot keep them out of there!

Atticus has recently started to talk A LOT but what's funny is his language seems to be almost as good as Thurston's already. We've been having too much fun getting them to say certain difficult words like 'international' or 'octopus', they always crack us up with their responses. They really enjoy having each other and it is so fulfilling to see them share and play nice and just love each other. Bedtime is always kind of funny because they like to stay up and play in the dark and they continue to fall asleep in funny places, like right by the door...

Thurston in the crib, Atticus on the floor

And heres a rare moment when Thurston was so exhausted that he fell asleep in the stroller! (in his favorite isle no less)

I always bake more during the holiday season and today we made Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins. Oh my goodness, these are my new favorite! They taste just like Christmas morning! I got the recipe from HERE. Looking forward to sharing Thanksgiving with my family this week, I certainly have a lot to be thankful for:)

One Look

2011-11-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

Ethan had the opportunity to go on a little getaway this week. He was selected to go to a confrence in California for University of Phoenix. He was away for 2 nights, all expenses paid including an afternoon at Universal Studios. We really missed him and it was strange not having him home at night, but I'm glad he got to go because he really deserved a break. Before he left I kept reminding him to take pictures for me so I can blog about his trip! This is what he came up with...

Ferrarri

Le Tigra

Blue Steel

They really show his diversity don"t they? I thought it was so cute that he actually made the effort to take some photos for me. Cause I know he had to have been embarrassed to be snapping photos of himself everywhere. Thank you Hunny! We are glad to have you back home!

Family Halloween Photo

2011-11-07T16:06:00.000-08:00

Taken at Ethan's work party

This is the rest of Ethan's team. They had a zombie theme but Ethan really wanted to dress up with our family circus. He liked wearing that dress way to much, but he does makes a beautiful bearded lady!

Time Out

2011-11-06T08:33:00.000-08:00

I took the rare opportunity to have a girls weekend and attend the Time Out For Women Conference. Time Out for Women is a conference, sponsored by Deseret Book but certainly open to women of all Faith, where we get to listen to a variety of speakers and musical numbers all geared toward uplifting and strengthening women. I don't think I've ever spent the night away from Ethan and the kids, so it was a little strange to be away, but oh so fun to have a little "time out"! The conference was on Friday night and about a half day on Saturday. A big group from our ward went together and stayed the Friday night at a hotel in the city. Lets just say that you are never to old to have a slumber party!

Besides getting to know some really great women in my ward, I was able to take away a lot of inspiration for my own life and a real sense of gratitude for all the blessings that I have. The conference also reinforced an idea (or more like a skill) that I have really been working on lately and that is to be more positive. Being positive doesn't make my trials or things that I feel negative about go away, but it definitely makes it easier to endure and overcome those things and to just be happier! I have more blessings than I think I deserve and I am just truly grateful for the knowledge and testimony that I have of the Savior and of Heavenly Father's plan for us.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T14:29:00.001-07:00

We had a whole weekend of halloween fun this year. The kids got to wear their costumes for 5 different parties. They liked dressing up because they knew it meant CANDY! We dressed up as a family for Ethan's work party and our ward trunk-or-treat party and I didn't take any pictures of us! I am pretty mad at myself for doing that. Ethan's work had a photo booth set up and we got a family picture there, but I have to wait for them to get it to Ethan. Luckily my mom took some pictures on halloween night of the kids. Poor Thurston really wanted to be Spiderman like all the other kids. He has been obsessed with it over the last month and runs around pretending to be him all the time!

Everytime he saw a kid in a spiderman costume he would say in his most whiney voice "I want spiderman" and put on a big frowny face.

But...mommy wanted to do a circus theme this year:) Hey I only have a few short years where I can make them dress up however I want! Plus he looks so cute as a lion

He actually still likes being the lion and had fun roaring at people everywhere we went

Mom and Dad's new house is on a really fun street where people go all out with decorations and really get into the "spirit" of halloween. My dad fits right in.

He updated his costume this year and it was a hit

Atticus wanted nothing to do with that scary tall man

Time to start thinking of a theme for next year that involves a lion again!

Goodman Family Reunion

2011-10-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun at our family reunion hosted by the Pierce Goodman family and held at the FRC (Family Recreation Center). They had so many fun things to do and we especially enjoyed catching up with all the extended family that were there. (thanks to Dad for all the photos!:)

Atticus and Ivy

She watched while he concentrated very hard on whatever it was he was doing.

too cute

Ezra asleep with Grandma

Cheese!

Ivy is demonstrating what the kids (especially mine) did most of the time, which was swim in the dirt

When they weren't swimming they were begging for rides on the quad!

Lucy and Erin (our cousin Erin) organized for us to make paracord bracelets

We also played minute-to-win-it, learned a little about our inlaws("outlaws"), had a family auction and did trick or treat with the kids. There was also a large selection of guns and rifles to play with too!

Clay pigeon shooting

Aaron, Ethan, Me, Uncle Pierce, and Uncle Matt

I had never even held a shotgun before then, so I was pretty shocked/excited to hit my very first moving target!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite traditions...carving pumpkins. I realized that the reason I probably love it so much is that someone else always does the carving haha! We invited mom and dad over to join in on the fun.

The kids still didn't want to touch the pumpkin guts

Thurston would only use two little fingers to touch the stuff!

Atticus was a little more daring

He will taste just about anything I say is good!

I don't think he liked it

Beautiful Thurston

Dad hard at work!

Thanks boys! They did a great job!

Birthday Get Together

2011-10-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

We had a family get together to celebrate Atticus and Ava's birthdays. Here is the boys right before we left for the party (I knew it would be my only opportunity to get a photo of them while they were still clean!)

Skyping Kiersten in Australia

and cake time!

Looks like a happy birthday boy to me!

Maybe he was trying to use his mind powers to blow them out?...

Happy Number 2!

2011-10-21T21:23:00.001-07:00

Its the end of a long, full, fun day and I finally have the chance to blog about my little Atticus. It is crazy how fast 2 years goes by! I remember like it was yesterday the day he was born. Atticus is such a blessing in our family. One of my favorite traits about Atticus is that he does not have a malicious bone in his body. He is a big softy! Even when he gets mad and acts like he is going to hit something really hard, he never does, he just gives it a gentle tap. He has always been a calm happy boy. And he has always had the best smile! Even when he was a baby, his smile is just so warm and contagious. I pretty much love the way Atticus does everything. I'm not sure if it is him or just the baby stage he is at, but I find myself wanting to take in his every move because he is so adorable. I love the way he walks, talks, dances, eats, copies Thurston, concentrates, plays with his toys, plays with the dog, jumps on the trampoline, climbs up and down stairs, and I especially love watching his chubby little hands do just about anything. He just has the sweetest spirit, I don't know how else to put it. He is trying to talk a lot now and is getting pretty good. Some of my favorite things he says is "Hi momma", "Roxy don't do that", "DANCE", and of course "buzz lightyear"! We love our sweet Atticus.

An Impromptu Date with Grandpa!

2011-10-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Our day so far didn't go completely as planned but luckily we had grandpa to save the day. As I pulled out of a gas station this morning I noticed the tire sounded really funny. So I pulled into the nearby grocery store and sure enough there was a huge screw stuck in there and leaking air. First person I call is my Dad because I knew he had the day off and I was just praying he wasn't sleeping or out golfing! Luckily he answered our call and dropped what he was doing to come help us. I have to admit he was the only plan I had, and I still can't think of what I would have done had he not been available! He managed to plug up the hole just enough and fill the tire with air so I could make it to the tire shop, then waited with us until it was fixed. The debacle totally set back my morning plans and I felt really bad for taking up my dad's whole morning on his day off, but at the same time I really appreciated the time we got to spend with him. We went out to breakfast, did a little shopping at Ross, it was special for us and we had so much fun spending some quality time with grandpa!

Well... I tried

2011-10-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Over a week ago this is what Lucy sent us home with...

She always gives us the best stuff when we visit! Lillian made the most adorable dinosaur coloring book for Thurston. I couldn't bare to let him color all over it, so I'm saving it, the drawings in it are just to cute! We also got 18 eggs, homemade antibiotic sav, healing coconut oil, a loaf of Lucy's home made bread AND all the tools I need to try and make my own bread. I am always raving about how good Lucy's bread it, because it is the best! The best flavor, the best texture, and she says the great flavor is due to grinding her own grains fresh on the day. Not only does this put more nutrients in the bread but it makes the flavor amazing. Soooo she gave me her extra grinder and a bag of grains for me to try it myself. I was so excited, I thought, "I am going to make the best bread ever from scratch!" I even took the time to stage a photo of all my lovely ingredients, I was so proud of myself at this point.

Hand grinding 6 cups of flour took me about an hour, hand kneading it took about 10 minutes (my arms were so sore!) but I happily worked away because I was determined to make yummy bread like my sister! I still thought I was totally awesome when I took this picture of the kids excitedly pawing at the fresh bread.

Then when I cut into it, I knew.... this was not like Lucy's bread at all. It was heavy, flavorless, even the color seemed unappealing to me. We ate a slice anyway, we hadn't had bread in a while because I kept saying I was going to make some. The kids choked it down, probably because it had so much butter and honey on it, Atticus gave his last bite to me. It was a total flop! It's been sitting on my counter in a bag for the last 3 days. I don't have the courage to throw all my hard work (and my pride) in the garbage yet. The moral of the story is practice makes perfect! (and if you are going to practice making bread this way, consider investing in an electric wheat grinder and a dough mixer haha)

Non-Paint Painting

2011-10-11T21:19:00.001-07:00

Now that the kids are getting older I really want to do more creative things with them. The problem is I am neither crafty nor creative, but I know they love doing this stuff so I am trying to make more of an effort.

This is actually vanilla instant pudding with different food coloring mixed in. I was afraid they might try to eat real paint so that's why I went the pudding route, but surprisingly they didn't try to eat this! Little did they know they were painting with something they would have loved to gobble up! Since they passed the test we might move onto real paint and brushes next time.

Graaahhh!

Forget Me Not

2011-10-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

I have been a little obsessed with this talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf since I heard it at the Relief Society Broadcast. His parables are so unique and clever, but humble and simple at the same time. I am always strengthened by his words and I just feel the love of the Savior when I hear him speak. If you have not already read this click the pin-of-the-week on my sidebar.

October means...

2011-10-02T18:51:00.000-07:00

....it's time to bust out the Halloween stuff!

Can you tell they love these PJ's? They are obsessed with "scary" stuff. We can't go to the store without going down the Halloween isle, Thurston always pleads, "go see scary?!"

Let the Holiday Season Begin!

2011-10-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

I know its only October, but in the USA that is when the holiday season begins. Lots of traditions and parties coming up over the next few months and we love them all! We kicked off the fall season with our usual family outing to Schnepf Farms. Although it was just us and the Hansens this year, we still had a blast!

The petting zoo is always a favorite of the kids

However Thurston was taking it to the next level this year. He was having the time of his life harassing all the animals, literally.

He was picking them up...

pulling their horns...

excessively hugging them...

and even trying to ride them?! He's not a huge animal lover like Atticus, so all of this was very surprising and very entertaining.

It was so cute to see the cousins holding hands everywhere

Can you tell this is Ethan's favorite ride?!

Atticus really wanted to go on the swings too

Every time Thurston sees a baby he caresses their cheeks and says "he's so cute!"

Waiting for the pig races to start

Hoedown!

The kids got to be pig helpers and helped cheer on their selected pig.

Thurston's pig won, here is daddy wearing the prize

Ending the night with a train ride

I love Ezra's face in this photo!

"Say cheese Elsie!"

Notice anything unusual about all these photos? Look again...we were the only people there! Well us and 2 other families and a bunch of employees. The opening weekend is always quiet, which is why we chose to go that particular day. But apparently it was a training day for employees, so they got to practice on us and we got free entry and no waiting in line for rides! Thank you for the fun day Hansens!

Out of Hibernation

2011-09-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

We haven't been to our favorite park in about 4 months because of the summer heat! They were so excited to go today and were running so fast to do everything I could barely keep up to take any good pictures.

Atticus has developed so much in the last few months and it was fun to see him run faster and play a lot easier on the equipment.

Thurston is also becoming more and more coordinated.

BALL!

My little animal lover:)

It is amazing how nice it feels outside when the temperature drops to 100 degrees and we are looking forward to the weather getting even cooler!

Big Bonk

2011-09-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

We were having the best morning! We went to a special story time at the library where the chick-fil-a cow made an appearance and we got to give him hugs, and dance with him and listen to a few stories about cows. We also got 2 coupons for free ice cream at chick-fil-a. So after the library we headed on over there for some lunch and free ice cream. Then as the kids were playing in the kids zone, Atticus tripped and smacked his face on the edge of the stairs. I saw how hard he fell and was so worried about him at first and trying to decide if he needed to go to the hospital. But he calmed down after a few minutes and didn't seem to be acting unusual. Atticus has had his fair share of bad falls and it is always amazing to me how fast he bounces back. A low note to our fantastic morning, but I am so glad that he is ok!

Those Japanese are Clever

2011-09-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Why isn't every staircase built with a slide next to it? It's practical and fun!

Apparently this is somewhere in Japan and when I saw it I imagined my sister-inlaw Marley (who is soon leaving to serve a mission there) dressed in her long skirt, stockings and badge sliding down with her hands in the air! Her farewell was last weekend and we wished we could have been there for that, but we will be making it up with some awesome American care packages! Marley- We are so proud of your decision to serve and look forward to writing you and hearing about your amazing experiences. Our thoughts and prayers are with you!

Cheap Buys

2011-09-17T20:25:00.001-07:00

I renewed my love for thrift-ing and yard sale-ing today with a few great finds. I haven't done either in a really long time since they aren't the most convenient forms of shopping and most often involve a lot of driving and searching. But today we happened to be out and about in some areas with good yard sales and thrift stores and thought we'd just have a look. I was reminded how awesome Goodwill is, there are so many treasures to the found there and for dirt cheap! Today I found a pair of boots (I have NEVER bought second hand shoes, kinda grossed me out before, but these I couldn't refuse and they look brand new!) also found a pair of American Eagle jeans and 7 shirts for the kids, all of which came to a total $22.

Then on the way home we stopped at a yard sale and I scored this marble speedway for $1! The kids aren't really old enough to build it effectively yet, but they sure love watching those marbles go!

I've already made plans to go out with my Dad (who is also a yard sale/thrift store enthusiast) next weekend. For me, finding a bargain is truly addictive.

Miscellaneous

2011-09-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

The kids are always doing funny things but I don't always blog it individually and I also don't want to forget that they happend. So I''m catching up on some of the cute things they do that I happen to take a photo of. Lets start with sleeping. It cracks me up that he could actually fall asleep like this.

Now that they are both in Toddler beds, Thurston no longer crawls into the crib with Atticus, rather Atticus has been crawling into bed with Thurston.

I have no idea why both were so tired this particular day at the store

I love watching him concentrate really hard on something:)

This looks like a good place to eat a snack

and a good place to chill out!

And now for some random video clips of Atticus's favorite word(s), Thurston helping out, and the world's longest zucchini!

Bowling! (kind of)

2011-09-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Atticus missed the pins 90% of the time, it was hilarious! Time to take them bowling for real, they would love it.

Fall Garden

2011-09-09T23:23:00.001-07:00

I've already fallen behind on my pin of the week commitment as my little sister so nicely pointed out to me. Some ideas I want to hold onto longer than others, which turns out isn't more inspiring the longer you look at it. Anyways, I really need to start thinking about my fall garden and I like this idea for sprouting seeds in recycled toilet paper rolls.

If only I could just decide on how, when, what, and where to get started?

Go the Diamondbacks!

2011-09-09T14:06:00.001-07:00

We had the chance to go to a baseball game after my dad was unable to use the free tickets he got. It was actually more fun than I anticipated! The kids had a ball just being out and doing something different and I actually enjoyed watching the game. I've been to baseball games before, but for some reason always felt bored out of my mind. But this time I kinda wished the kids weren't there so I could pay more attention to the game haha! Maybe because all those other times I was in the nose bleed section and this time we had pretty good seats.

Gotta have a hotdog at a ball game!

Meeting the big-head players

We lasted about 5 innings before the kids became too much to handle while sitting down. The stadium has a kids playground on the top floor so we were able to go up there and let the kids run free. Overall a good experience, its too bad that the season is wrapping up and there aren't many games left. Go Diamondbacks!

Party Time

2011-08-31T07:06:00.000-07:00

This year's birthday party for Thurston was his best yet. Maily because he is old enough now to actually understand all of the festivities. I love seeing him interact with his cousins and he is always so excited when they come over. We played a couple games.

Opened presents

(the Hansen kids enthralled with Thurston's new electronic book)

And ate cake of course! I went a semi-healthy route this year making zucchini cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting.

Thank you again to all of our family (near and far) who helped make Thurston's birthday special!

Procrastination- guilty as charged

2011-08-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

A YEAR FROM NOW YOU WILL WISH YOU HAD STARTED TODAY. -KAREN LAMB

I need to remember this, time goes by way too fast to not take advantage of every single minute, hour, day, and year!

3

2011-08-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast this last year has gone by. Too fast in fact. My baby Thurston is another year older and growing more clever by the day. He is so much fun to be around. He has his moments like any 3 year old, but for the most part he is happy and enthusiastic about life! It was really fun going through all of our videos from last year and seeing how much he has changed and developed and to see just how much we have done in a year.

My favorite thing about last year is how much his language has developed. It is so entertaining to hear him talk and use sentences and copy what me and daddy do and say (good and bad). He will say things out of the blue and I realize just how much information he is soaking in all the time! He loves to tell Atticus what to do. If Atticus has a toy he wants, he will find another toy, and offer it to Atticus to trade. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't! He is so proud about going potty (thank goodness) and is completely wearing undies now, even at night! One of his favorite things to do is go fast. He will get you to run with him up and down our long hallway until he collapses on the couch and in his breathiest voice says "too fast, its too fast". He is a big helper by opening doors for me. When we are getting in the car he always opens my door first and says "he ya go mama" then opens his own door and gets in is car seat. Then whenever we come home with bags or groceries, we have a self closing door into the house from the garage that he will hold open until the last bag is inside. I have never told him to do this, I think he just thinks its fun to open doors but this is one habit I hope lasts! Thurston is also very good about saying please and thank you and he is very sweet when someone is sad. If Atticus is crying he will hug him and rub his back and say "its ok, don't cry". Just now as I'm typing he walks in with the oven mitts on his hands and pats them together while saying "they kissing, look they kissing!" LOL. Never a dull moment with him that is for sure. These are just some of the things he does everyday that light up my life. I am so blessed to be his mother. Happy Birthday my beautiful boy!

Another Nephew

2011-08-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

My sister Lindsay unexpectedly had her baby almost 3 weeks early! Gavin Elmer was born at 12am on Aug 27th. I think he just wanted to be here in time for cousin Thurston's birthday:)

I was so excited to be the first family member to see the baby, even before grandma and grandpa! I happen to have a math tutoring class in Phoenix that morning and was able to stop by the hospital on my way home. It is so nice to be living in the same country when these events happen.

Popcorn

2011-08-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

I never get sick of singing this song with them. Can you tell what our favorite part is?!

Inspired

2011-08-20T22:11:00.001-07:00

I am going to attempt to do something consistently on my blog. What I would like to do is every week post something new or creative or inspiring that I've come across and pin it to my sidebar. My little sister Kiersten actually inspired me to start this through a little website she showed me called pinterest.com. She would rave and rave about this website and send me cute things she found, and I really didn't get it until yesterday when I really had a good surf through it. I really like how everything on the website is beautiful, or unique, or interesting, or inspirational in some way and I want to share something like that every week on my blog. In doing this I am hoping to be more inspired and motivated in my own efforts to be a better person and accomplish the goals I have for myself. Because I need all the help I can get! So my very first Pin of the Week is for my 3 beautiful sisters, Lindsay, Lucy, and Kiersten, who I adore and look up to, and who each inspire me in their own way.

Canyon Lake

2011-08-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went on a little camping adventure to Canyon Lake. The lake is less than an hour from our house so it was a convenient location to try out an overnight camp-out with the kids. Overall I would say it was a success and we really enjoyed ourselves!

The kids sleeping arrangements

There was a point around 10:30pm where I did not know if the kids would ever get to sleep, but they did, and gave us their usual 5:30am wake up call.

Cowboy breakfast. For some reason cooking bacon and eggs in a cast iron skillet over an open fire makes them takes especially delicious!

I think the kids thought it was amazing to just be in nature and get as dirty as they wanted! Especially Atticus, whenever we weren't doing something, he was on the ground just piling dirt on his legs, feet, arms, face, etc.

Ethan was so excited to take the kids paddling on a blow up raft we bought. So much that when the automatic blower died, Ethan blew up the entire raft himself!

I was happy to find out Roxy loves the lake and would retrieve anything I threw in there!

If you look very closely in this next picture, you can see a fish hovering around Ethan's foot. Well apparently the fish here like the taste of humans and if Ethan was stationary for too long it would nibble his legs and feet!

It was a much needed getaway and we can't wait to do it again!

Favorite Summer Recipes: Part 2

2011-08-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

This recipe is my absolute favorite that I found this summer. I got the idea for this from somewhere else, but the following recipe is my own creation. It is SO EASY. I like to call it...

100% guilt free chocolate ice cream (kind of)

for one serving all you need is

1 frozen banana

1 Cup chocolate coconut milk

blender.

Blend one frozen banana with 1 cup of chocolate coconut milk and what you get is a frozen treat that has an amazing creamy texture and a yummy chocolaty taste. The key ingredient here is the chocolate coconut milk. I stumbled upon this gem in the health food section one day. It is all natural, very healthy and low calorie and tastes amazing! If you can't buy chocolate coconut milk pre-made you could certainly just get the regular coconut milk in a can and mix that with cocoa powder and honey or a chocolate syrup to get the same effect.

-------------------------------

This last favorite summer recipe is called Brazilian Lemonade. Found this recipe from another blogger and we love it. It tastes exactly like key lime pie! You can find the recipe HERE. We use the leftover lemonade to make popsicles

Nothing beats a hot summer day like a homemade popsicle!

Favorite Summer Recipes: Part 1

2011-08-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

Since zucchini grows like crazy in my garden, we've been eating heaps of it this summer. So I've been trying out lots of recipes to incorporate it. This Chocolate Zuchinni Bread is seriously the best and the kids go absolutely cookoo for it! You can find the recipe HERE. The only thing I did different than the recipe was take out the chocolate chips and sprinkle the top of the batter with chopped walnuts before baking it.

Our second favorite zucchini recipe is crustless mini zucchini quiches. I know it is not technically a quiche if it has no crust, but I'm going to call them that anyway. I actually created this one myself and was able to use 3 ingredients from my garden; cherry tomatoes, basil and of course zucchini! Surprisingly, the kids love these too.

Crustless Mini Zucchini Quiches

2 Cups shredded zucchini

1/2 yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

2 Tablespoons fresh basil (dried basil is fine, just use half)

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk or cream (cream makes them taste amazing!)

1 Cup Cheese

Cherry tomatoes, sliced

-----------------------------------------------------------

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray and place a pinch of cheese in the bottom of each muffin cup.

Next make the zucchini filling. Start by making sure all the juice from the zucchini is squeezed out, otherwise the quiches will turn out too watery. Saute the zucchini, onion, and garlic in a little olive oil until soft. Then place about a teaspoon of this mixture on top of the cheese.

Beat together the basil, eggs, and milk and poor into each muffin cup just shy of the edge.

Place a slice of cherry tomato on top and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden on the edges. These also freeze well to save for another day!

Museum of Natural History

2011-08-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

We got together for Elsie's birthday to do one last outing with the families before school starts. We've been meaning to go here all summer and finally got around to it. The kids thought it was pretty cool, lots of HUGE dinosaur exhibits.

Here we got to green screen ourselves onto an old black and white movie

and this is how Atticus fell asleep on the way home:)

Gotta Love Craigslist

2011-08-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

We had a fun afternoon playing on the Hansens blow-up water slide!

Uncle Aaron was kind enough to help Atticus to the top

And cousin Lilly was nice enough to help Thurston (I'm pretty sure he weighs twice as much as her haha)!

Goodbye again

2011-07-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

We've said goodbye to our australian family yet again. We got to spend 2 weeks of this month with them and enjoyed every minute of it. Why does time have to go by so fast when you are having fun?!

This was taken at dinner with the Brough's at Tia Rosa's. The guy in the middle is not family, this is the only shot I had of all os us:) We have been so blessed that our family has been able to travel and visit us so often since we moved here. Next up is Christmas with the Casanovas!!

Guns and Go-karts

2011-07-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

This is how we entertain our house guests.

You can't visit Arizona and not fire a gun or two (or three haha!)

We also went go-kart racing while Tayce and Josh's friend Ray was here.

It was an indoor track and the karts were really fast!

New Nephew

2011-07-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

The Hansens welcomed a baby boy on July 22 around 3 am. We are so happy he is finally here! All he needs now is a name:)

To hear Lucy's amazing home birth experience click HERE

Adding to the Family

2011-07-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Meet our newest family member Roxy. She is a beautiful 5 month old Doberman/Labrador. We got her 2 days ago from a family who was moving and unable to have a big dog in their new apartment.

So far the kids adore her and she is very good with them. Atticus loves her water dish and tries to drink out of it just like a dog and they both love crawling in her kennel (neither of which they are allowed to do!). If given the opportuity I'm sure they would eat her dog food too. In fact today I was practicing obedience tricks with her and Thurston put out his hand to have a turn feeding her the treat. But what he actually wanted to do was eat the treat!

Considering she is still a puppy she is very well behaved. She is not hyper, does not make mischief or try to chew on everything and she is already potty trained as far as I know. She is a fast learner and very obedient. She also makes a great running partner. She will mostly be an outside dog, but because it is so hot outside right now, I let her take her afternoon naps inside.

She is still a bit shy/nervous around strangers so I am trying to socialize her well. Today we went to my dad's house to visit him while he recovers from knee surgery and to see if Roxy likes to swim.

Dad was able to get some pictures for us.

When Roxy saw us get in the pool she seemed like she really wanted to get in too. With some encouragement she got onto the step, then proceeded to blow bubbles with her face in the water!

She definitely knows HOW to swim but I don't know if she likes it yet. Although, as soon as she got out she seemed like she wanted to get right back in! We'll have to practice some more.

Staying cool in the shade

We love our sweet girl!

Today's Spoils

2011-07-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at how well the garden is growing with little or no effort from me! It has surpassed any expectation I had of it. I certainly never thought I would have to cut the plants back because they are getting too big. Like the basil for example. I love fresh basil, but it is one of those ingredients that I would never buy at the store unless I wanted to treat myself or when making something really special. Look who's laughing now, I've got so much basil I don't know what to do with it! The best part is I get to prance out my backdoor and use fresh basil whenever I want:)

The rest of the plants are doing better than expected too, even the ones I thought I planted way too late. All of them have fruit growing, except the melons (which are growing out of control without producing anything!). This is what I picked today; zucchini, okra, red cherry and yellow pear tomatoes, and there is infinitely more green ones just waiting to turn ripe. If you noticed the monster on the right you can tell that the zucchini is still thriving strong (and hiding so I don't find it until it is huge!)

To give you a better idea of how huge this thing is, here is Atticus trying to not drop it!

These kids are growing better than expected too, and with little or no effort from me;)

Nothing says SUMMER like...

2011-07-16T21:07:00.000-07:00

swimming and watermelon!

Free Movies

2011-07-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

Saw a free movie at our local theatre today. You heard me right FREE! They have them over the summer holidays. They aren't new releases or anything, but it's still fun to take the boys to see something on the big screen. They love it, probably because I let them eat popcorn to their hearts content!

Matuku's Island

2011-07-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

This place is amazing!(picture taken from their website) Basically it is an indoor tropical jungle with huge fast slides, lots of climbing and crawl spaces, just imagine where the lost boys lived in Neverland. The tree pictured below is just one of the attractions they have.

You can barely see them but they are WAY up high inside a clear tunnel looking down!

It was exhausting keeping up with the kids but it was worth it, they had such a good time!

Finished off the night with some In-N-Out Burger.

Not bad for a Wednesday night!

More Swimming

2011-07-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

This time at a water park!

Thurston has gained so much confidence swimming (with floaties or a life jacket of course) and doesn't want anyone helping him get around.

Waiting for a big wave!

We learned that both kids can ride some of the big slides with an adult and they loved it! We will definitely be going again before the summer is over.

Who knew an underwater camera could be so much fun??

2011-07-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Tayce had me laughing hysterically the whole time. She's just so good at posing underwater! I on the other hand have my eyes closed in every picture (darn contacts!)

Tea Party

It was fun feeling like a kid again, I needed that. Thank you Tayce!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

We had the best day and felt so lucky we were able to share it with the Kroks and Davisons who are here from down under. The girls had mani/pedi's while the boys went golfing, then it was swimming at the Whetton's (more on that later!), then we finished off the day with a firework show. What more could you ask for?

Ps. Sunday was also fantastic as we celebrated my Mom's birthday, feel free to read all about it HERE.

Lack of Inspiration

2011-06-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

Due to my lack of inspiration (more like motivation to be honest) for blogging this last week, here is something funny I stole from another girl's blog, hope she doesn't mind (although I'm pretty sure I stalk her and she has no idea I even have a blog). This is hilarious!

1 | I think the part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2 | Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. {Not that I've experienced this... I've just heard. From others.}

3 | I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger. {You can do that?}

4 | There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

5 | How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6 | Was learning cursive really necessary? {Or calculus for that matter?}

7 | Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my own neighborhood.

8 | Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9 | I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind-of tired.

10 | Bad decisions make great stories. {Again. Not that I would know. *insert sarcasm font here*}

11 | You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment during the day when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. {Hence, I blog.}

12| Can we all just agree to ignore whatever invention comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my movie collection....again. That goes for audio too!

13 | I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14 | "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash it - ever.

15 | I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring, but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16 | I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17 | I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18 | I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19 | I wish that Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

20 | Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize that I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it. {Can we say Grease?}

21 | I would rather carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take two trips to bring my groceries in. {Cold compress works great.}

22 | The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text

23 | I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. {Let's see - flour, sugar, butter, eggs, cocoa powder, cook book...}

24 | How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said? {This happens on a daily basis.}

25 | Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

26 | There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

27 | Sometimes I'll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still not know what time it is

Sweet Moments

2011-06-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

This happened a few weeks ago. I went to check on the boys before going to bed and Thurston had figured out how to get into the crib by using the side table. It is sweet to see how much they enjoy being together.

My favorite time of day is putting the kids to bed, but not for the reason you are probably thinking:) We brush our teeth, occasionally we read a book, then Thurston turns out the light and daddy helps him to bed while I put Atticus into bed. Even though daddy has already tucked Thurston in, he whispers to me "momma, banket (blanket)?" So I take off the sheet and re-cover him. Then I walk out of the room and once I've turned to shut the door and Thurston can see me through the opening as the door closes, he whispers "goo-night mama, I nuv you." Then I say "I love you Thurston", then he says "I nuv you" and we carry on like this a few more times, saying goodnight and I love you, before I finally close the door. It does not matter how many times I put him in timeout or get frustrated or impatient with him during the day, every night he says this to me. Every night this sweet moment brings me joy I can't even describe and teaches me so much at the same time. He forgives me for being imperfect, no matter what, and just loves me. My heavenly Father is the same way. He loves me unconditionally and forgives me instantly. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows me and loves me and I am grateful for his influence and understanding. Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers who bless my life.

Zucchini

2011-06-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is my (huge) zucchini plant

And this is my first harvested zucchini! I knew I had one growing but hadn't checked on it in a while. Then today when I had a look there was a big ol' zucchini sitting there!

To make this post remotely interesting to anyone but me, here are the kids playing with/pretending to eat the zucchini.

I don't know why they thought it was so amusing pretending to eat it

Lets see if I can get them to eat it for real!

Pool Day with the Hansens

2011-06-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

We love our cousins and I realized today that we don't visit them enough, they are so much fun!

We went to the nearby public pool (hence no seat belts in the above photo:)

The baby pool there is perfect for the little ones, just the right temperature and depth for them to swim in.

Its really not fair how cute Lucy looks pregnant, not long now!

My favorite part about visiting the Hansens (not really) is that they always send me home with my favorite homegrown/homemade goodies! Today we scored FRESH salsa, homemade apricot jam and fruit leather, eggs from their chicken coup, and my favorite: a freshly pulled garlic head! Is it silly to the that excited about garlic? It's one of the few ingredients I use almost every day, I love it. Thank you Hansens!

Date Night at...

2011-06-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

the shooting range! To be honest I wasn't that excited when we first went in. On top of being nervous anyway there was this lady shooting something extremely LOUD in the booth next to us, bullets hitting targets, shells flying around me, I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I really don't like guns but figure I needed to learn how to use one considering our recent purchase. So I pretended I was fine at first, but once that lady next to us was out of rounds and I fired off a few myself, the anxiety went away and I had a lot of fun.

Ethan of course was having the time of his life and thought it was our best date ever!

What are your fun date ideas?

Backyard Fun

2011-06-08T14:39:00.001-07:00

Sealife Aquarium

2011-06-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

Today we went to an aquarium with the cousins. All my pictures are really bad because it was so dark/taken with the phone, but you get the idea anyway. The kids had so much fun!

Splash Park

2011-06-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's cray to think we were playing here last summer, have we really been living in Arizona that long already?! We had lunch with Ethan then decided to spend the afternoon here. I wish it was closer to our house so we could go everyday!

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

A public holiday means getting together with the fam. We had barbecue, swimming and lots of fun!

Thurston wore speedos like a true aussie

Atticus had fun trying to figure out the watermelon

The kids really loved getting into Grandma and Grandpa's new pool, even though it was pretty cold. They were all smiles (accompanied by blue lips and chattering teeth!)

Atticus especially loved it and didn't seem to be phased by the cold water.

They also had water guns which quickly became Thurston's favorite activity(he REALLY didn't like the cold pool ha!)

He went around shooting people most of the afternoon

Here Ander's is giving him a taste of his own medicine

Atticus got to be the first grandchild to fall into the new pool. He was reaching for a ball and fell straight to the bottom, luckily Ethan was right there and jumped to his rescue. He must have held his breath because he really didn't cough and sputter when he came up, he was mostly shocked!

At the end of the afternoon all the cousins snuggled in for a movie...

Until they heard grandma making cookies and rushed to her side!

Twins

2011-05-29T22:04:00.001-07:00

Dressed alike for church today:)

For my own record keeping I wanted to blog that today was the first day in a really long time (and only the second time ever) that all 4 of us stayed in the chapel for the whole sacrament meeting AND listened to the talks! This was largely due to the fact that Thurston was really tired and delirious and by some miracle Atticus fell asleep on my lap at the beginning of the meeting. But still! It was a huge blessing considering how frustrated me and Ethan have been about attending the first hour of church. Thank you my little twins.

ps. Lately while out and about people ask if they are twins a lot. I guess when sitting in a shopping cart or stroller they look more the same size. Atticus is quickly catching up to Thurston in every way!

Preparedness

2011-05-24T12:48:00.001-07:00

In light of the many natural disasters that are always happening around the world, I decided to try and be more prepared by finishing 72-hour kits for our little family of 4. It is really hard for me to imagine ever having to use these kits, (especially since nothing ever happens in Arizona).

But I guess that's the whole point of having them is to be prepared for something unexpected.

There are a few things that I still need to add such as a utility knife, flashlight and blankets. For now we have the basics; 3 days worth of food and water, a set of clothing, matches, and first aid kit.

In other related news, we also planted a very very small vegetable garden. We have two different types of cherry tomatoes, zucchini, honey dew melon, basil and parsley. I started small because I really didn't know what I was doing and I was afraid they were all going to die (which is also why I haven't blogged about it until now). A month later and it's safe to say the plants are thriving! Time to plant some more!

Cookie Monsters

2011-05-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

The kids helped me make cookies today...

sort of:)

Great start to our weekend!

More Visitors!

2011-05-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

The last couple days we have been hosting our cousins Sonya and Thomas from Australia. They are here for their niece's wedding in Utah and decided to also come see where we live and visit with us. We had the best time with them! I love and miss my aussie family and it was nice to feel that connection while they were here. They've been missing their 5 kids at home too, so I think they really appreciated getting to hug and kiss our little ones. The kids had a ball rough housing with Uncle Thomas.

Heres something funny, as we pulled into the airport terminal Thurston says "Go see nan-nan and pop-pop?" He must think his australian grandparents live there! Thank you again to Sonya and Thomas for visiting us, come back soon!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T15:28:00.001-07:00

I had the best mother's day weekend. It started out with breakfast and mani/pedis on Saturday with my mom and two older sisters.

It was really nice to spend that quality time together without any distractions. We all agreed that we need to get together just girls more than once a year.

I don't know if Thurston knew it was Mother's Day or not, but he was acting abnormally perfect yesterday. He went potty on his own TWICE, he willingly let me dress him in a shirt buttoned up to his neck with a tie and even posed for pictures, was a perfect angel during sacrament meeting, and when we got home from church he laid down on his bed and took a nap totally unassisted. He is such a clever boy and is so thoughtful when he wants to be. Without even asking he always holds the door open for me when we come in the laundry door and he always says "thank you, thank you very much" when he is pleased about something. By the way that suit he is wearing I bought at a yard sale for $1!

Atticus is a good boy but is getting more and more feisty as he gets closer to being a 2 year old, probably due to his brother picking on him all the time. He is so happy and easy going. He is still my cuddle bug and will let me hold him and kiss him. He has the cutest/funniest voice which we call his kermit voice. He is trying to say everything and can communicate quite a few words like, hi, bye, mama, dada, cars, train, outside, cracker, cheese, cereal, brush brush, ok, and no.

I feel so lucky to be their mother:)

The Best Laugh

2011-05-04T21:48:00.001-07:00

I filmed this a few months ago and just never got around to posting it.

Sadley, the video doesn't end as happy as it starts.

Funny Boys

2011-04-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Everyday I am entertained by these funny boys. Atticus is still falling asleep in funny places.

Thurston brought his giant kangaroo to sleep under Atticus's bed with him.

And the video is of them making their own fun, I love when they play together:)

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T09:31:00.001-07:00

We put the finishing touches on our backyard just in time to host the family Easter dinner. We had a busy Saturday mowing the lawn, clearing off the back porch, cleaning windows and doors ways, and putting together our new patio furniture and trampoline!

I feel so lucky to live in a house that can accommodate my whole family. It was my first time hosting everyone and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The cousins are so cute around each other and love to be together. I tried spacing them out at 2 different tables but they insisted on all sitting at the same table.

kissing cousins:)

Elsie was cracking me up because every time I asked her for a picture she would make the funniest faces.

The boys didn't really understand hunting for eggs, but they sure understood opening and eating them

The kids had a blast on the trampoline, including this little peanut who was fearless and didn't mind getting bounced everywhere!

Goodbye Carlsbad

2011-04-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

That's the end of our holiday. We had a wonderful time with our family and it was sad to have to say goodbye, although, our goodbyes were made a little easier by the fact that we will get to see them again in a few short months.

On our drive home we stopped half way in Yuma to walk around the historic Yuma Jail. It was interesting to read about the different inmates and the conditions of living in the jail. We all enjoyed a break from the car too.

A great end to our holiday. Where shall we go next?!

San Diego

2011-04-21T21:34:00.001-07:00

Our first stop in San Diego was the historic Old Town Village. Lots of cool little shops and buildings to look in and some yummy mexican lunch.

Next we went to view the USS Midway Air Craft Carrier and walked around the memorial site which was next to it.

After the memorial site we drove across to Coronado Island to see the beautiful beaches (sorry no pics)

Then onto Moo Time where Ethan ate the biggest ice cream sandwich I have ever seen!

Every street on Coronado Island is lined with houses like this, each one more adorable and unique than the last. This was one of our favorites.