The Tyler's

Much needed update!

2012-01-30T22:27:00.000-08:00

It has been waaaay too long since I have given an update on here...If you are on Instagram you understand. It's so much easier!!

But, I have been promising so many people I would update so here we go!

Tessa finally got to leave the hospital after 3 weeks in the NICU. It was the best Christmas present we could have asked for. She left weighing 5lbs. 6oz. She looked (and still does) so teeny tiny in her car seat!!

Our friends threw us a super fun going away party. It was so incredibly sad to leave Virginia Beach. We made so many amazing friends who we relied on so much. Hopefully we will get to go back and visit!

The kids and I flew home 4 days after Tessa got home and Noah left with the moving truck the next day.

(April Rothman and Amber Saunders)

Once we got to AZ we stayed at my parents house for 2 weeks until our renter moved out. We had a great Christmas with our family. It was so nice to just relax a little after all the craziness that had just happen.

(Tyler cousins reenacting the Nativity..Tessa as baby Jesus..haha)

We moved back into our house New Years day. That was more exciting for me than Christmas!! I had been waiting for this day for 2 and a half years. Our house feels HUGE after living in an apt. for so long. We had so much help unloading everything, but my Mom was the best help of all! She is queen of organizing and pretty much had my whole kitchen perfect by a couple of hours...and of course you Maddy! Later that night Noah took the older kids to a New Years party (I stayed home since I was feeling soooo sick) and my Mom and I got almost all the boxes unpacked and put away. Well, I fed Tessa and she put away...she's amazing.

(Ronan didn't make it to midnight)

The kids all started school a couple weeks later. Brody and Sadie did great at their new school and Ronan did more than great at his first day of pre-school. I was so surprised that he didn't cry after I dropped him off! He is growing up so fast...so sad.

The kids still fight every day to hold Tessa...she is for sure the star of the family. We love her more than life!

This is her most favorite...to lay on your chest and sleep.

Brody got baptized on January 14 with his twin cousins Emery and Matix. They are the best of friends and only 5 days apart so it was meant to be for them to be baptized together. It was such a special day. I'm so proud of Brody and the choices he makes everyday. We are so lucky to have him in our family.

Afterward we had everyone over for lunch. It was so great to spend the day with all our family who we love so much.

Random pics of Tess.

And other news...

Noah is studying like crazy for the Bar. He takes is Feb. 28th and 29th.

He had a job offer..he goes in tomorrow to accept. Such a huge blessing that was.

We are quite the scouting fam! Noah is working with the 10 yr. scouts and me with the 9 yr. old scouts. Brody is loving being a cub scout!

Noah had a Birthday and turned 32.

I started running after taking 6 months off. Holy crap am I out of shape!!

I carpool with the most amazing ladies to school. They bring my kids home every day so I don't have to wake up the baby.

I started a dinner swap with my friend/neighbor Maddy. She makes dinner Mon. and Thurs. and me on Tues. Wed. It is soooo fun not having to think about dinner two night a week! I just hope she is liking it as much as me.

Well, that's about it for the past 6 weeks or so!

Life is great!

new baby came early, almost 8 weeks early!

2011-11-25T15:05:00.000-08:00

So we’ve been counting down the days until we move home to Arizona. Getting our house packed up, renting moving trucks, buying flights, and notifying doctors in AZ that we’ll be having a baby soon after we get home. Well, things have changed.

Sunday afternoon we were lounging around for “quiet time” and Jill says, “Noah, can you come here?” So I head back into the bedroom and Jill was in the bathroom and said, “I think my water broke.” Say what! Pump the breaks! How can that be, right? I said, “Are you sure, you didn’t just pee your pants.” I secretly wanted to laugh but this was a time to be “serious”, which is usually tough for me anyways. “If I did then this sure is a lot of pee.” We were pretty sure it was the real thing.

We grabbed a few things and left the kids with some friends. I told the kids that we were headed to the hospital so the doctors could tell us if mom needed to stay and have the baby or if she could come back home. I don’t think they quite got it, mostly because we had been saying all along that the baby would be born in Arizona.

After we checked in and a few preliminary questions from the doctor, she said, “Yep, your water broke.” Then the ultrasound and some more questions. She said that since Jill was close to 33 weeks, any serious efforts to prevent labor would do more harm than good to the baby. However, she said that hopefully Jill could “hold her off” for 9 more days which would put her at 34 weeks and then induce labor. She said all of that as if it was no big deal. In fact, she said, “Just relax here and I’ll be back on call on Wednesday so I’ll check on you then and see how you’re progressing.” I thought she was joking, so did Jill. After all, it seems that once that process starts it’s pretty hard to slow down. How was Jill going to last 9 more days? But, then again, I’m no doctor.

So with no dilation or real contractions, I went home and Jill was admitted. I told the kids and, again, they didn’t quite get it. “Why can’t she come home if she didn’t have the baby?” Sadie asked. So the next day around 11:00 I asked Jill how it was going…

Doctor’s first check, dilated 5 cm, second check, 7 cm with strong contractions. Next, epidural (ahhh). 20 minutes later, 3 quick pushes and a new little baby. Tessa Gwen Tyler born at 1:45 pm, 11/21/2011. The doctor was surprised how quickly Jill progressed but that’s what we’d been saying all along, it’ll be quick.

She’s pretty small, birth weight was 4 lbs. 10 ozs. And 17.5 inches long. Decent amount of hair that is already getting lighter, much lighter. Her lungs were in pretty good shape and she even cried a bit when she was getting cleaned up. They took her to the NICU to get on oxygen and feeding tubes and a bunch other tubes and wires.

I’m so proud of Jill. She has done a fantastic job during the entire pregnancy but especially over these past several days. I know she was surprised, nervous, shocked, and, understandably not prepared to have the baby so soon. She was planning on flying home at 36 weeks, December 10^th, so she could stay as long as possible here in Virginia and still be OK to travel. Most, actually, all of our baby stuff is in the attic in AZ. One of the nurses even asked if we had a car seat. We sat and thought, “No we don’t.” Why would we? So we are adjusting and making some new plans.

The prognosis is good. We are encouraged by many mini-milestones she reaches each day. We keep saying that it’s like a best case scenario to a bad situation. She was “upgraded” to the incubator on Wednesday and started light therapy for jaundice. Not sure how the boxed-in set up is an improvement as the doctors say, but then again, I’m no doctor.

Today, she is completely off of oxygen and her feeding tube got moved from her mouth to her nose. She likes her pacifier even though it blocks her vision. She is now eating .5 oz per feeding and has been opening her eyes more and more. She doesn’t seem too small until you hold her or touch her hands and feet. And if you can’t tell then, just put something next to her for a reference point and you’ll certainly see that she’s a preemie. Today’s weight, 4.4 oz.

We’re not quite sure when she’ll be able to come home, hopefully soon. We are obviously more concerned with her progress and continue to pray she gets well enough soon. It seems as if each day she does a bit better and is keeping us all very positive. Not quite sure who she looks like most, maybe Sadie, but that’s probably just because she’s gorgeous.

We are very grateful to all who have been so helpful to our family. Just as we weren’t expecting our baby so soon, neither was anyone else and so many have been willing to pitch in and help out. Grandma Arnett flew out Monday night and will stay for a while. Then Grandma Tyler comes out in December to help with the move home, whenever that is. We truly are blessed with such awesome family and friends. Thank you all.

Virginia has been a blast. We’ve have loved so much of this place. I guess Tessa just wanted to experience a little piece of it too. Welcome to our family!

8 years...

2011-11-13T17:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Brody turned 8...really 8??? I am so happy for him and the amazing young boy he has become but I just wish it would slow down a bit.

I could not ask for a better first born!! Really, he is the most obedient, smart, funny, down to earth, witty, humble, best example for his younger siblings EVER!

I love him so much and am so excited to see all the great things he will do in his life.

He invited 6 of his best buddies to the movies and then sleepover afterwards. Sadly, the night before I was up all night throwing up and sick as can be. The next day I didn't feel any better so Noah had to take over and did pretty much the whole party. (But really I'm sure they would have preferred it that way. Noah is totally the more fun parent)

(Maddy, did this not just happen to you???)

The party ended up being a hit and Brody said it was his best Birthday yet...score!

Our traditional Birthday pancake..

Obviously the best thing about turning 8 is getting baptized, but he really wants to wait till we move home next month. Sooo....the next best it SCOUTS!! This kid could not stop smiling when he opened his scout uniform. He has been counting down the days to join all his friends in scouts.

Love you Brody, we are so thankful you came into our lives 8 years ago.

10 years..

2011-09-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Noah and I's 10 year anniversary. Gosh, I seriously can't believe we've been married for that long. It's crazy to think 10 years ago I was 19 years old and didn't have a clue about anything really, or what the next 10 years would entail. I am so grateful I took a chance and married that 16 year old looking return missionary. Noah has been the best thing that has ever happen to me. I can't imagine life without him.

We all had to be at soccer practice last night and didn't get home till about 7:30..when I walked in the door these flowers were waiting for me. I was shocked...and love them. Noah nailed it with these flowers. He knows I am not a roses kind of gal and knows I LOVE tulips and fall colors.

This is what 10 years looks like..

Why the scale?? I wanted to do a funny post about all the things we got as wedding presents and still use...but never got around to it. But I will say...this scale is battery operated...used everyday for 10 years (sometimes multiple times a day) and we have NEVER CHANGED THE BATTERIES!! Freaky huh? I wish I could remember who gave us this wedding present!!

Weekend recap

2011-09-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

It has been raining for nearly a week strait! Rain boots were the best purchase I have made in the past 2 years.

Soccer season started for Brody and Sadie. Noah is the coach for Brody's team. Brody scored the first goal on the first game...he was so proud!

With all the rain we are forced to stay inside a lot...which leads to outfits like this.

Saturday night Noah and I attended a dinner with Supreme court Judge Samuel Alito as the head speaker. It was part of Regent's 25th anniversary celebration. I was a little let down with the Judge....he was not the greatest speaker but I will probably never get to be in the same room as a supreme court judge again so it was fun.

Took a sunday drive to chesapeake bay area. We found this cute little spot with this lighthouse and a fun play area for kids.

Soaking in every last beach trip before we move in a couple months...

Fall is officially here!! I'm so excited for cooler weather and less humidity. Bring on the Fall baking!!

Hope you had a great weekend.

2011-09-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

The kids had a great first day of school yesterday! I still think it's nuts that I have two kids going all day to school. They were so excited all morning. They both got up on their own at 6:30, picked out their clothes, helped me make lunches, and could not WAIT to head to the bus stop. My favorite part was hearing all about their day after school. Sadie went on for about an hour...while Brody summed it up in about 2 sentences.

The night before we had a special dinner and family night to get pumped up for school. They picked out the menu...orange julius for the drink?? It was Noah's idea for the table cloth and candles..haha.

It's so fun to be home with just Ronan this year. He is milking it in every way. Enjoy it while it last buddy... January will be here before you know it! (Baby girl #4 will be here in January) Yesterday we had our 3rd annual celebratory back to school lunch with friends at Nordstroms cafe..I really missed all the friends who have moved!

Here's to a great school year!!

Our summer thus far...

2011-08-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

We have had a fantastic summer so far! I know lots of kids are back to school but we have a couple weeks to go so we are in full summer mode over here still.

(if you haven't noticed...writing is not a strong point of mine. but I do have cute kids...so pics of kids is what you get!)

We started off the summer with lots of trips to the YMCA pool..

Super fun visitors the Rogers came and stayed a couple days before they headed off to Sandbridge..

Many days spent at the beach...the thing I will miss the most when we move.

A couch on the beach?

Sadie turned 6 on July 20th..

My Grandma was in S.C. so she drove up for the day to surprise Sadie on her B-day..

Went out with friends for her birthday dinner..

Two days later we hopped on a plane and flew to AZ! It was kind of a last minute trip but it was one of the best!

Dinner at Cheesecake with the girls...

We swam just about every single day. My SIL parents have this very fun pool with a full on pirate ship...among other fun things.

Trip to the lake with Grandpa T..

This pic doesn't look like much but you are actually looking at a miracle. Ronan is actually on the tube in the lake!!! He is the biggest weeny so this was HUGE!

Drove over to California for my brother and fam's sealing. It was so great to have all my family together (minus kids) and see how happy Justin is. I'm so grateful for Justin and Kristina and the choices they have made.

While in Cal. the weather didn't get over a mere 75 degrees. I was dying! I always knew Cal. had great weather but this was unheard of! Noah is now seriously considering moving us to Cal....I wouldn't argue with that idea :)

It was so great to see Vanessa who has been living in Mexico. And I finally got to see Cory and Jessica's cutest fattest baby ever!

Dinner with my most favorite Chandler people in the world. Some of them may have moved from the greatest street ever but I still love them A LOT!

Met up with our VA school friends who were in AZ for an internship. Our kids are best of friends so it was so fun to hang with them. They were even on our flight home!!!...which made for a very easy flight.

And thats that! Next on the agenda is organizing rooms and gearing up for school. My kids can not WAIT!

2011-08-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

This guy is loving his no teeth. I'm dreading the awkward giant buck teeth stage. I had it big time when I was little!!

DC Temple

2011-07-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

Our stake set a goal to take your family to the temple at least one time this year. I was nervous about doing this with it being a 3 plus hour drive but we did it and it was the best day trip ever! Noah and I switched off going into the temple but the kids did great going on nature walks, lunch, visitors center and whatever else they did. It was so great to show the kids this amazing temple. I can't wait to do it again!

Summer can officaily start...

2011-06-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Our kids got out of school last Friday. It seemed that every single person has been out for weeks so we were very anxious for this day to come! Brody is modeling the little teacher gifts we made this year. B&B treats and a cute note that said "you are SENT-sational. We have been so lucky to have amazing teachers this year. Both my kids had Mrs. Dykes for kinder and I can not tell you what an amazing lady she is. She has even taught me so much...I just love her! She is almost worth staying here in VA so Ronan can go through her class! I said almost...

I planned a little end of school bash for all the kids around here. As the bus rolled in you could hear all the kids cheering and yelling...it was so fun! Then we launched water balloons at them...they loved it.

It was a mad dash to get to the water balloons....

We had 2 giants buckets full of water balloons which were gone in about 1 min.! All that hard work down the drain...but it was so fun to see how much fun they were having.

This GIANT slip n slide is always a huge hit...

Then is was over...and now we are in full fledge summer mode!

On tap for summer...YMCA pool, lots and lots of beach days, visit from friends and Great Grandma, Norfolk Tides baseball game, trip to DC temple, piano lessons, math camp, and hopefully organizing this place for our big move at the end of this year. It's gonna be a great summer!!

dance

2011-06-20T18:10:00.000-07:00


Last week Sadie had her dance recital at the Norfolk Scope. If you know VA, you know the scope is big and downtown which was intimidating to me, but we made it through the dress rehearsals and Sadie did great in the recital. They danced to the song "9 to 5" which was ADORABLE!! They wore fake secretary glasses (which Sadie didn't like to wear) and carried little secretary notebooks. So so cute!

I stressed about doing her hair for weeks! Her hair does not hold a curl worth a darn, so I gave sponge curlers a go. BAD idea!! Her hair was basically straight when I took them out, so I went back to the curling iron and prayed the curls would stay. It was OK, but definitely need to come up with a better solution next time.

This video is awful, (we were not supposed to video or take pictures at the recital, but I had to get some footage for the fam to see!)

Sadie is 2nd from the left.

Happy Birthday Ronan...and Me

2011-06-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ronan turned 3 on April 17th. It was on a Sunday in the middle of finals for everyone so we just chilled at home and had a little family party. He loved it. 3 is certainly a fun age. Ronan is leaning so much at such a fast pace and lives life to the fullest! He keeps us on our toes for sure but we love him so much.

Opening a Birthday package. He got beyblades...so now every time we get a package he thinks someone sent him new beyblades.

We have this super fun bike trail next to our house so we took a bike ride up to Noah's school. I was a little nervous Ronan wouldn't be able to last the whole time but he did great and kept right up with the rest of them.

Noah being the much better parent than I am let Ronan make and frost all the cupcakes.

My Birthday was 5 days later. We spent the day together...ate way too much food at Chipotle (as you can see) saw Rio (loved it) and had a great dinner with Noah at Bravo.

Easter

2011-04-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

This Easter was probably my favorite Easter of all.

Powerful, amazing talk by our Bishop...just what I needed

Uplifting music

Lunch with all our favorite school friends

Dinner with all our favorite church friends

Lots of great food...I remember how much I love deviled eggs every Easter

Skyped with my Fam to end the night

Perfect.

Barrister's Ball...

2011-03-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

We went to Barristers ball last weekend...which was so much fun! It is basically prom for the Law students..kind of funny. We got to have a great fancy kidless dinner with great friends.

Womacks, Woods, Wilborns and Hartmans

Don't know what I'm going to do when this lady leaves me in May.

Love you Nat :(

The theme for the night was "Kentucky Derby". How cute does Jodi look? I was wishing I had a big fun hat all night!!

Hope and Jamie. Jamie (on the right) will be moving to AZ after Law School and I could not be happier!! Her kids are the same ages as my kids...we love their family so much!!

So, some of you know that we were trying to transfer to ASU for Noah's last semester. We just found out the Immigration clinic that Noah wanted to take is not being offered this next Fall semester...super bummer. So with that and a few other things we have decided it would be better to stay and finish here in December. We both feel really good about staying actually. I'm excited to have more beach time this summer!!

Say what??

2011-03-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

Why does my weather tracker say we are in the 30's again??? I swear it's almost April!

We had a little taste of Spring last week....please come back to stay!!!

Visitors from the WEST...

2011-03-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

May parents came to visit a couple weeks ago. Since we just saw everyone in December we were not expecting any visitors for a while but we were pleasantly surprised when they told us they were coming!! We planned a jam packed schedule for them since we didn't really do much last time they were here.

Straight from picking them up from the airport we headed straight up to DC to spend a couple days. You really could go there every weekend and see something new!

The Capitol. My favorite part of the whole DC trip. We got to do a tour of inside the Capitol...super sweet! It was like being right back in Social Studies learning about the House and the Senate. There is an imaginary line in the middle of the Capitol that they literally do not ever cross. Crazy!!

This is the inside the top of the dome...this is also the room where Presidents who have died lay and people come and pay their respects before they get buried.

Supreme Court...Noah's fav.

Museum of Natural History (Night of the Museum!)

Our niece mailed us a Flat Stanly to take pictures with for her class project. He made it all the way to the Lincoln memorial!

The view of DC from Arlington Cemetery.

Next on the agenda was Williamsburg.

We walked through the Colonial Williamsburg, ate at the yummy Cheese Shop, drove through William and Mary, went to The Christmas Mouse store, and shopped at the Outlets...all in one day!!

This is out of order but we drove by the DC Temple so my Mom and kids could see it for the first time. Amazing as usual. It would have been great to go in if we had more time.

My Dad had been wanting southern fried chicken all weekend so we ended our trip with a yummy but seriously greasy need to take a shower now dinner.

I'm so thankful my parents could come see us and love that they took time out of their busy schedules for us. It meant a lot!!!

4 weeks and counting...

2011-03-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

No Diet Coke for 4 weeks (or any caffeine)! I knew I needed a break when I would wake up thinking about Diet Coke. I still get head aches here and there but overall it's really not so bad. We'll see how long it last!

ENJOYING THE WEATHER...

2011-02-18T13:39:00.000-08:00

So today I was on the phone with a friend for about 15 mintues. As I get off I realized it's really quiet and go look for Ronan and Sadie. They drug a blanket out and started to have their own little picnic. I thought it was so cute that they get along so good and were having so much fun.

Then I looked in the bag to see what was for lunch....I dying laughing!

Tub of butter

Tub of cream cheese

Fresca

Leftover hamburger and corn from last night

Orange

Yogurt

...and a pad of paper and pencil...just in case.

They wondered why I was laughing!

I Love them and Love that they play so good together.

(Sugar Coma)

2011-02-16T14:12:00.000-08:00

Valentines day came and went. Noah and I signed up for a fundraiser babysitting thing for Fri. night but ended up being the night of a fellow church member's funeral. So we spent our Valentine night at a funeral...but is was very sweet and we were glad to be there for them. We skipped out of the dinner afterward and went to dinner with our good friends the Fawsons. Love them!

On the actual V-days spent it at home with the kids. I made sugar cookies and the kids helped decorate them for some special V-day people. I ate waaaaaaaay to many. Just looking at those pink cookies kind of makes me sick.

The kids got a special V-day package from my parents. They love getting things in the mail...as you can see.

We had a fun V-day dinner with the kids. Noah grilled the most amazing steaks I have ever had!!! Ruth's Chris had nothing on them! We passed out treats to our neighbor kids, then it was off to bed. Not too exciting.

Happy late LOVE day from us!

2011-02-11T07:57:00.000-08:00

Just when I thought winter was close to coming to an end...Mother Nature has to go and do this...!!!

I really do not like living in snow! As pretty as is looks the first day...it all melts and then turns to a soggy ugly mess all over. The kids love it though. School was canceled yesterday because of the snow so the kids got to play in the snow all day! I still have to remind my Arizona born kids that you have to actually put on a coat and boots when it's snowing outside! Still a new concept to them I guess.

Stuck in the car because I forgot to defrost the ice! It takes awhile.

This morning I got up early to go to the gym and it was a mere 17 degrees!!! I wanted to cry. Then my sweet husband got up and scraped off the ice off the doors so he could open them and turn on the heater. That made my day....because I probably would have thrown in the towel if I had tried to open the frozen car doors.

This weekend they are calling for Sunny and 60 degrees!! I can't wait!!

Feliz Cumpleanos, Mi amor

2011-02-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

Noah turned 31 last week. He spent his B-day morning in urgent care with Brody. His asthma was so bad and needed another steroid shot to open him up. Then he got to go to school all day...yeah! We had a little birthday celebration that night.

We love him so much and are thankful everyday for all that he does for us.

Jamestown

2011-02-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

For Martin Luther King day we took a little day trip over to the Historic triangle. Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg. One of the coolest parts of living in VA is all the rich history surrounding us. It's so fun to watch my kids learn about the history of our country and see how excited they get about it! They loved learning that we are living in the exact spot where the English landed and started the first colony...Virginia!!

In Jamestown we did a fun tour that showed us how people lived and survived. Boy am I grateful to live in 2011!! Those poor people had it so rough. They had this fun ship that they built to look like one that would have been used.

It was pretty cold this day!

Warming up inside.

Next, we headed to my Favorite town...Williamsburg. I seriously love it here!! I had already been a couple times and since it was sooo cold, we just drove around and looked at all the cute things Williamsburg has to offer. We found this adorable neighborhood. Every house was as cute as this house, if not cuter!! I may need to get me a house there someday.

Simple pleasures

2011-01-24T10:23:00.000-08:00

If you know me well, you probably have heard me talk about how much I love waffles...and good waffles must be made on a FLAT waffle iron. Growing up, it was a tradition to gather at my Granny's for Christmas morning waffles. Not just any waffles...whole wheat waffles. The best ever in my eyes. It's a memory I will always have of my Granny. Anyway, for the past 9 years I have been looking for a flat waffle iron. Belgian is good...but not like my Granny's good. I looked online, at every store that carried appliances and every time I pop into a thrift store I have to peek at their appliances...no such luck...till this weekend!!

Look at this beauty!!!

This past weekend I was needing to make a Nephi costume for primary, so the fam all took a trip to the thrift store. I know...the dream saturday night activity right?? I found the perfect curtains to make my Nephi costume...and next thing you know Noah comes up and says close your eyes! And he hands me THE waffle iron! I was soooo excited! And it's in such good condition!

Best part about it...$4.98!

I didn't get a chance to use it yesterday because of early meetings and church but you can count on this thing getting plenty of use around here.

Other finds at the thrift store that night: bike for Ronan, set of curtains (costume), laptop toy and barbie horse that the kids could not live without all for under $30! Score!

Love this...

2011-01-22T18:11:00.000-08:00

Ronan LOVES to sleep with Brody...and Brody is so sweet to let him.

December 2010

2011-01-14T16:40:00.000-08:00

We started off our December with our church's Christmas party. It was the best ward party I have ever been to! The kids got to see Santa, decorate cookies, great food, musical numbers, and a nativity. Sadie and some friends did a little dance to the Chipmunk Christmas song. I about peed my pants at how hilarious it was! Hope got her toes stepped on so she had to exit early..poor thing.

The primary kids were the Heavenly angels for the nativity and sang all their songs so great.

Noah, along with the other Bishipric members were the 3 kings. At the dress rehersal I asked Noah if he was really going to wear his towel like that, he said "no way, I was just joking". Sure enough, he wore it like that in the real thing. I couldn't even look at him!

A couple weeks later we headed to the "Lights at the Beach". You pay $8 for your car and you drive down the board walk and watch the best Christmas lights show. It was so much fun. We had some neighbor friends with us...they were all crazy and loved it.

Christmas in Arizona!!

We were so excited to go to AZ for Christmas this year. The kids all did so great on the flight and we were all loving the 80 degree weather!

We did so many fun things but of course I didn't think to take pictures of most of it.

Tyler Nativity...always a hoot. Ronan got the part of Joseph this year...you can imagine how that went. Baby Autumn played baby Jesus and Tyler was the Narrator since he is way too old for this kind of stuff now! Hopefully it brought the spirit but mainly lots of laughs!

Christmas morning was great! I look forward to Christmas morning breakfast at my Mom's all year long.
Sadie is really starting to read to well now so she loved her new Fancy Nancy books!

Beyblades were a hit for Brody this year. He was really hoping for a DS but didn't get one. I thought he would be really sad but seemed ok with it.

All three kids got Razors! Now they can stop stealing all the neighbor's scooters!

Leaving treats out for Santa...

Mom and Dad and all the Arnett grandkids...minus Annie who was sleeping. Leave it to Ronan to be the one to not cooperate!

So, Sadie had been asking to go swimming for 2 days so finally I said if she felt the water and still wanted to go she could go. Next thing I new, they were both running out with swimsuits on and jumping in!! My parents pool is not heated!! They were nuts!..but loved swimming and Grandma's.

While my kids were swimming, our friends back in VA were getting a terrible snow storm!! 13 inches in 1 day!! I was so grateful I dodged that bullet!!

We also had the best reunion with my Dad's family that will get it's OWN post. I'll just say...I am so grateful to be an Arnett! Funnest family ever!!

If I was a Facebook(er)...

2010-12-13T09:06:00.000-08:00

I would say "It's snowing like crazy today"!!..and loving it!

Catch up...

2010-12-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post some pics I have been needing to post about but just didn't get around to it..and with Christmas around the corner I thought I needed to just hurry and get them on!
We have all been a bit stressed these days. Noah is up to his eye balls in finals. He takes his 4th within 5 days tomorrow morning. So pretty much his schedule is, get up eat breakfast, head to the library, come home for 20 min. to eat lunch, back to the library, come home for 45 min. for dinner, then back to the library till 11 or 12. Or sometimes we change it up and take him dinner! I don't know how he does it. In his 5 seconds of spare time he is busy doing church calling, scout rechartering or trying to get in some play time with the kids.
Since we are traveling this year for Christmas (first time ever!) I have been busy trying to get all the new year primary stuff in order, Christmas gifts ready, and everyone's hair done before we leave. If I cross my fingers I will get our Christmas cards done!! We are beyond excited to get to go to AZ for Christmas this year!!

Brody turned 7 on November 12th. He is so old and I am dying that he will be baptized next year! How did 7 years go by that fast. I love him so much and could not ask for a better first child. He sets a pretty high standard for the younger two.

We took Brody out for his birthday to Fuddruckers. He invited his two best friends Kellen and Christian. Then had a fun sleepover.

Last month we went on a fun date night with the Law Wives. Pizza and ice skating. I had not ice skated in forever and it was so much fun! Noah kept telling me the key to ice skates is to cinch them up as tight as can be...I had bruises the next day.

Noah got a new Iphone so now his old one pretty much belongs to Ronan. He loves it so much and knows where everything is better than me!

We decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. This year was my first year not going Black friday shopping in 7 years...so I had lots of energy to decorate!! I made this cute little nativity at our Super Saturday. I think it's so cute and don't have to fill bad if the kids mess with them. (We also finally added Ronan to our wall after 2 years!)

Our Elf (Felty) came to visit again this year. For some reason Sadie was so afraid of him this year. Every night she goes to bed and says, "please don't let Felty come in my room"...in tears. Hopefully he will visit us in AZ!

I went on a field trip with Brody's class. A bus full of 40 first graders makes for an interesting 30 min. We went to the Lynnhaven historical house. It is the oldest standing house in Virginia. It was super interesting. They didn't let us take any pictures and I was so bugged because it really was the cutest house! We had a lot of fun.

One night Brody had a few friends over for dinner and they found a big box in Noah's truck. They brought it in and asked if they could play with it...I said "sure"! Five min. later I walk in to thousands of peanuts all over Brody's room! The damage had already been done so I let them dump the rest out and go crazy. Since then we have been finding peanuts for days!!! It made it worth it when I was taking one of the friends home and he said, "this was the best play date ever"!!

I hosted a goodbye lunch for two dear friends who are moving this month. I am really really sad about it and I'm going to miss them too much. But, they are both going on to great things.

Phew! That feels better to get those posted!

Freezing our Fanny's off!

2010-12-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

Last year when we had a crazy snowy winter, everyone assured us that this is NOT normal and it very rarely snows here in Virginia Beach. Well, guess what happened last Saturday? We got snow. It wasn't a ton and it melted by noon the next day, but we had a blast playing in it while it lasted.

I love this picture. They did this forever and thought it was the funniest thing in the world every time.

Since last week, our highs have been low 3o's! It actually isn't too bad, just when it's windy...then you want to die!

Thanksgiving weekend..

2010-11-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner at our friend's the Burton's...who is our family away from family. They are one of those families who is amazing at everything and inspire you to do better. We have been blessed to know them. I don't know how we would survive here without them.

Anyway....it was a great day of eating and being with family. I even managed to get up early and run 4 miles! After dinner, we all did our talents. Sadie and I sang a little pumpkin song (on the fly...we forgot to bring a skit). Ally Burton sang and played her guitar. She is amazing. She just returned home from her mission in August and is now at BYU so it was fun to have her home for Thanksgiving.

Then we worked off some calories with "Just Dance" Wii. We love it! Brody gets really into it...it's hilarious. And if you know Noah...you know he loves things like that.

We finished off the night with the Saunders for dessert. Amber made about 5 pies and I ate a slice of everyone of them...plus my pumpkin bars that I brought. It was overkill.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Here in Virginia the weather has been heavenly. Sometimes I can't believe I actually get to live here! We have had mid 60-70 degrees, low humidity and no rain for the past couple weeks!! It does not get any better than this. For sure my favorite thing about VA is Fall. Everywhere you go there are mounds and mounds of leaves. When it's windy, it is like it is snowing leaves. When you drive, the leaves scatter in every direction behind you. When you go for a run, you crunch leaves along the way. And the trees, oh my! Just look at them! I have the crappiest camera known to man, but it does the job. They look like they are on fire! It's really breathtaking and so refreshing to see all the changing going on around us.

I love where I live.

I nearly ran off the rode while driving and taking these pics. I won't do that again.

I so wish I lived in a house so my kids could enjoy the fun of raking leaves. I've never had to do it, but it just sounds really fun.

(I hear it's supposed to drop down to low 50's tomorrow...boohoo)

2010-10-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

2010-10-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

I had a bad day yesterday with Ronan. He decided
to pee and poop in every single clothing he owns....after potty training was going to well!
I guess I show my frustrations to much...

I don't know what I did to deserve Brody...but I am sure thankful!

How in the world did this happen?

2010-10-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

I've been a bad blogger lately. I set a secret goal to post twice a week...but that went out the window the first week! Things have been crazy and non stop the past couple months. It's funny, when Brody and Sadie were little, like Brody 2 Sadie 1 little, I thought my life couldn't get any busier and things would be so much easier when my kids were a few years older. I laugh right now as I type that. As your kids get older your life just gets more busier and more hectic.

Reasons why I'm not a good blogger:

getting kids off to school, bus stop 3 times a day, potty training, baseball practice/games 3 times a week, dance class, primary president, room mom for Brody's class, help in Sadie's class every other week, doing hair, boot camp, book of mormon challenge, cleaning/laundry, homework.

BUT, I have an awesome husband who helps me out so much, and who is way more busy than I am.

I love this time of my life right now and I wouldn't change it for anything. I know 5 years from now I am going to be wishing I could go back to now because life will just get that much more crazy.

Pics from the past few weeks...

Brody has made leaps and bounds in baseball this year. He hadn't played in 3 years (which was t-ball) and got put on a team that really knew what they were doing. He had to catch up a ton and learn so many things but he has done so well and is really loving it now. Last night, he hit a sweet line drive to the out field! Nothing like a little boost of confidence, he was all grins the rest of the night.

This is how we spend our conference Sundays. Huddled around the laptop. We don't get BYU channel so it makes for an eventful several hours. I promise I was not sleeping...just blinking.

I hosted a fun Bunco night a couple weeks ago at a friends house. We had so much fun but missed our long lost Katrina...Boo hoo!

Last week was spirit week. One day was twin day so Sadie and her best friend dressed up alike. Luckily Brielle's little sister who was 3 at the time is the same size as Sadie...who is 5!

This month is the worst month for asthma!! Poor Brody has really been suffering here in VA. A few weeks ago we had to take him the the E.R. because it got so bad and was the middle of the night. They had to give him a steroid shot to help open his lungs up. When he gets that bad, that is the only thing that helps him. He had to have another one the next week because it got bad again!! He is such a trooper though. When we would ask him how he feels, he would just say "medium"...when you could tell he was in so much pain from not being able to breath. He has been on a lot of meds lately!

Last month the kids and I took a little trip to South Carolina to visit my Grandma (she was visiting from AZ) and her family. It was so fun to see some of my Great aunts and Uncles. The kids loved fishing and each caught several fish...even Ronan!

I think this is my new fav picture.

9 years...

2010-09-29T13:36:00.000-07:00


(D.C. Temple trip September 18th 2010)

Happy Anniversary Noah, I don't know where I would be without you.

Love you,

Jill

Shout out to my Friend...

2010-09-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last night I made dinner for two friends and their families...because everyone around here is having babies!! Not It!! I made this pizza from "For the love of Food" who happens to be one of my best friends. It is now one of my favorite pizzas. I love pizza...especially "fancy" pizza like this. I could eat here everyday.

Head on over to Crystal's food blog and get you some great recipes!!

The big day

2010-09-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I realized that Brody and Sadie would be 1 grade apart. I love that they are so close in age and get to do so many things together....but it's just all happening way too fast!
Today Brody started all day 1st grade. He was a champ. What's new? Noah got up this morning just after 6 and Brody was dressed, shoes on, watching cartoons waiting for school! Gosh, he is so great. He loved getting to eat lunch at school. I wrote him a little note and put it in his lunch box and he gave it back to me after school and it said, "I love you to".
Sadie started afternoon kindergarten today. She has Brody's teacher from last year..Mrs. Dykes (per my request). She is an amazing teacher and we feel so blessed to get her for both kids. Sadie was also super excited for school to start. She asked me about 15 times if it was time to go to the bus stop! She did so great and loved everything. I asked her what her favorite part was and she said, "seeing Brody at school...when I saw him I ran up to him and gave him a big hug"! I'm so grateful my kids love school so much.

It was fun to spend time with just Ronan. He is about 75% potty trained so this new time will give us a chance to work on that last little bit. What did we do with our time?...lunch with friends at Nordy's cafe to celebrate back to school!!

Here's to a great year of school!!

Sadie Lady turns 5

2010-08-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Sadie turned 5 while we were in AZ. She had been talking about turning 5 and having a party in AZ for about a year!
We invited a few friends and cousins over for a swim party...since really all you do in AZ when it's 115 degrees outside is swim!

Later that night, we took the kids out to the Sugar Bowl for some ice cream. They had an arcade there so that's really all they cared about.

Ronan, Talan, Sadie, Emi, Matix, Brody

Happy Birthday Little Lady. You are so special to our family.

Things about Sadie at age 5:

*STILL loves dress ups
*loves playing with her big brother Brody
*does NOT want to take her training wheels off
*independent
*will argue with you till you are blue in the face and give into her
*soooo small and petite
*loves her long hair and wants to grow it out to her butt
*starts a "collection" just about everyday
*beyond excited to start kindergarten
*has been saying her testimony at church for the past year and a half..by herself
*loves to sing and does vibrato with her voice...hilarious.

Woods Canyon Lake

2010-08-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Probably the main thing my family is known for is our love for camping. When we were in AZ a camping trip was a must for us! And if you know my Dad, you know that you eat better while camping than you do at home. My Mom and Dad both make camping so much fun! My brother Justin who lives in California with his family didn't get to make it but my other two brothers and their families were there, along with my G-ma, my uncle and his family and my SIL Krystal's parents...who are like family.

The little boys played with their trucks...

Noah was a pyro and had that fire going even in the rain!

Took much needed naps...along with chocolate drool.

My Mom is famous for her scavenger hunts. The kids look forward to it every camping trip. Every treasure they come to she has fun things like bug catchers, candy, balloon launchers, squirt guns and treats waiting for them.

Played on the Rhino...and begged for someone to take them on rides.

See this BBQ trailer? This is what I'm talking about when I say we eat better than at home. My Dad made this trailer so he can cook for big groups while camping. It was so fun!
Uncle Linn, Brother Jason and his wife Krystal.

Played games, ate junk food galore, lounged around, laughed at the kids, told stories and just enjoyed being lazy and out of the 115 degrees!

On the last night, it started raining...HARD!! We were all stuck under the "Headquarters" as we like to call it, so my Mom made ponchos out of trash bags and we all made a mad dash to our tents and trailers! It was quite comical.

Thx again Mom and Dad...can't wait to do it again next summer!!

Survived 2 car trips cross country..

2010-07-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

We did it! We made it all the way to Arizona (40 hours) without killing each other. I thought it would be a disaster but it was actually super fun! It was the first time for our family to drive cross country (maybe the last) and we made the best of it.

My Mom sent a fun travel package to the kids and they couldn't open it until we left. They thought it was the funnest thing...it was like Christmas for them. She made them all pillowcases for their pillows, fun books, travel bingo, hangman, a license plate game, it was perfect!

The kids got to either have the laptop, the dvd player, or Noah's phone. They usually fought over Noah's phone.

We packed food for breakfast and lunches to make it cheaper. We may have looked a little W.T. at times! But the kids loved every minute of it.

We picked up this homeless boy...he was too cute to pass up.

We made it to Arizona in 2 1/2 days!! We only got a hotel one night...we were too excited to stay the night the last night so we drove till we got there at 2am! We were all exhausted but happy to be home..er in Arizona.

Much more to come from our trip!!

2010-07-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Only in Virginia Beach...

2010-06-24T10:30:00.001-07:00

Where else can you spend 4 hours at the beach, have clear sky's, get fried....

And then have a thunder and rain storm on your way home...

It was the perfect day of playing in the Sun all day and then listening to the rain all night. This is why we LOVE Virginia Beach!

Watch out all you Arizonan's....6 more days!!!

A Father Indeed

2010-06-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

We had a great Father's day yesterday. Let me back up to a week ago...

Last Sunday I was asked to speak at our Stake Conference!! If you know me well, you know that I get REALLY REALLY nervous when having to speak in front of groups. And this is not just any group...it's about 500plus people! I was dying and had pretty much the worst week ever. I had the biggest pit in my stomach all week and could not think about a single thing but my talk. I will say, I had a great topic, Fathers. I have so many influential Fathers in my life so I was very honored to get to speak on such a topic. Yesterday morning, I woke up and for some reason I was so ready to speak and actually a little excited. All those prayers really payed off. The talk went well and I was able to say everything that I wanted to say. I felt like a million bucks afterward, for accomplishing something that is one of my biggest fears! So, needless to say, the rest of my day went so great! I was so happy to have that over with.
It was fun to have Noah home with us all day (normally he has church meetings most of the day) and celebrate the amazing Father he is. We watched UP, napped, ate a yummy dinner, went on a walk, and went on a drive to a fun beach that I'm hoping to go to this week.
I have the best Dad, Father in Law, Grandpa's, Father to my kids. I am so lucky to have them in my life.
Happy Father's day.

Noah was needing some new tie's. So he got not one...

Not two...

But three new ties! One from each kid.

Ronan wasn't too happy at this point..

Our church comes out with the most heartfelt videos I have ever seen. Yesterday I watched this one and loved every second of it. It made me so proud that I have a wonderful Dad in my life. You might need a kleenex...

Just us girls...

2010-05-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Noah and the boys went to a Father and Sons camp out with our Church. I was so excited to spend the weekend with just Sadie. I can't recall a time when it has just been us two so we were super excited to do some fun girly stuff!
It was the perfect weekend with my fun little gal...

Stayed up super late watching Barbie Thumbelina
Ate lots and lots of junk food till we were both sick
Ward party
Primary breakfast
Pedicures
Visited my friend Tabbi in the hospital who just had a baby
And lunch at Chic fil a

I love her so much and am so lucky to be her Mom!

What's been going on?

2010-05-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

Not too much is going on these days but I manage to feel like we are so busy. Hmm...maybe it's my two year old that keeps me insanely busy!

Noah- Is now a 2L!! 2nd year law student that is. He finished up his first year about two weeks ago. Finals were rough this second semester! I don't know what it was but it seemed to drag on forever! He is still waiting on his grades...crossing our fingers. I'm sure he did great. We were able to have a few days of him home which is so great! We worked on house projects, went to the beach, gym, and just played. So, if you know Noah, this next sentence may be a teeny tiny bit funny. Noah is turning into a gym rat! I know. But seriously, he has been every day except Sun. the past two weeks!! He says he is gonna be ripped by the time we hit the lake in July! If Noah's family is reading this, I'm sure they are rolling on the ground by now!...haha! Anyway, he started summer classes this past Monday. Mon.-Thur. nights 6-9...kill me now. I just keep telling myself, it's only for 6 weeks! He also is doing an externship for a non profit firm so he is right back to being busy busy.
(1 yr. worth of Law books)

Me-I had a great Birthday thanks to the best husband ever, great friends, and our families. I went out with some friends to Uno's and it was such a fun night! My friend Amber made the most amazing strawberry cake from scratch...I'm still thinking about it! I don't know what I would do without my group of friends...it makes living here so worth it! I have also been trying to work on my fitness (as Fergie says it). My goal has been to get to the gym at least 5 days a week. I've been doing pretty good...some days it just doesn't happen. Mothers day was great. Noah and the kids made Cafe rio burritos for dinner...I would have paid $20 for mine! Noah had the kids make videos for me telling me what they loved most about me...it was sweet. A few weeks ago I threw my friend Tabbi a little baby shower. She just had her baby on Fri. and I was the chosen one to be on call...which I headed over to her house at 5a.m. so they could head to the hospital. It's the second time someone has asked me to be "on call" and it really makes me feel so special!

Brody- Is doing so great in Kindergarten. Every time they get progress reports back, his teacher right the most sweetest things about him and tells us how she loves having him in her class and he is a leader for the class. He is such a good kid! He is getting to excited about 1st grade and going all day. His class had a little Mothers day party for all the Moms. It was so cute to see how excited all the kids were to have their Moms there! Then they sang about 5 songs for us. Brody's allergies have been acting up quite a bit lately. But luckily his inhaler does the job pretty quick. This past weekend, the boys went up to Father and sons. Brody had been looking forward to this for weeks! He is such a camper and loved spending time with Noah and Ronan (and his best friend Kellen).

Sadie- Finished up her year of pre-school. She did so great and loves to learn! I taught the last class so we made Mothers day gifts and cards. She is sooooo excited for Kindergarten!! She talks about it non-stop. Mainly for riding the bus. She tells everyone "I'm going to AZ in July and when we get back, I'm going to Kindergarten!!!" She continues to be our little pistol but she has some tender sweet moments too...sometimes. She has so many friends and is usually out playing till dinner time.

Ronan-We are learning so many meanings behind the phrase "terrible 2's". Ronan is by far more active then my other two were at this age and gets into and destroys everything in sight! (I think I have mentioned it a time or two). We had to put up a baby gate to block of the kitchen because the TWO locks on the fridge were not cutting it. It's the first time I have ever needed a gate. He thinks he is soooo big. He is starting to ride bicycles and scooters and HAS to go everywhere the older two go. He loves to swing and would sit and be pushed for hours. He is talking much more lately and just starting to put two words together. He still HATES to go into nursery but now loves to go the gym...we take what we can get!

mezmorized by a lady bug..

This dang post has taken me almost two weeks to finish! I already need to update!
6 more weeks till AZ!...but who's counting???

Signs of SUMMER: scabbed knees

2010-05-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

28 big ones!!!

2010-04-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

I hijacked the blog...but I had to since it's Jill's Birthday today. For some reason the 'birthday' doesn't seem as cool??? I asked her how the day was going and she replied...

By the way, the last pic is of Rone on his trike with a helmet, I guess he thought he could take a hard fall going .5 feet per second and from 18 off the ground, hmmm. Man I love the kid! So here are a few things I love about my wife...

1. She never complains.
2. She never nags.
3. She always puts up with me (and that's asking alot).
4. When I act goofy she acts like it's not cool and that I'm a total nerd (she's probably right) but then all of a sudden she'll do the same thing back at me.
5. She hot!
6. Actually sticks with things and finishes (unlike myself, but she's taught me a lot).
7. The best mom in the world to our kids.
8. Is an awesome cook.
9. Keeps the kids in check.
10. Works hard in her church callings.
11. Buys a new shirt just because.
12. Lets me do the clean dishes.
13. She's the glue in our home.
14. She tells me when my outfit is wak.
15. She's my favorite barber on the planet.
16. Her smile, I mean, seriously, the best I've ever seen!

I guess I'll stop there. I'm buried in the library right now and probably ought to study. I love you.

I had planned on making a cake for Jill tonight but all we had in the pantry was chocolate, not her favorite. I told her and she said, "Na, I'll just buy one while I'm here at the store." Ok...so she comes home with a chocolate cake...I guess I'm not as good a chef as I thought?? Just kidding, she wanted a "real one." Hmmm...Sadie wanted in the pic also, unfortunately, she put the balloon in front of her face.

Here is her birthday pancake--it's a J if you can't tell. Next to the 'average' J is an 'above average' cursive J. A couple of weeks ago she came home with a pancake pen so we could do our birthday letter pancakes better? It's hard to explain but it's awesome...basically it gives control to draw with the batter. This was after waking up at 5:30 to go to the gym! Now that's dedication. You are the best, really!!!

Love,

Noah

More Birthday fun!

2010-04-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

How do you go from..

2010-04-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

This..

To this..

To this..in the blink of an eye!

Happy Birthday sweet little boy.

Spring Break...VB style!

2010-04-12T11:17:00.001-07:00

We had the best spring break ever! It really helps when you live so close to the beach. And the weather could not have been more fabulous all week.

Highlights of the week:
*Visit from my Grandma (she was visiting fam in S.C. so she drove up for the day)
*2 beach days in 1 week
*Castle park for 4 hours
*Chuckie Cheese B-day party
*Running errands and not having to worry about getting home for the bus
*Brody's last soccer game and after party
*Finishing my 10k run with 2 great friends
*Letting the kids stay up late every night

NOW IT'S BACK TO THE DAILY GRIND....

2010-04-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend watching conference and having parties with great friends. I think our Church should make it a tradition to have conference every Easter! We spent the whole Easter Sunday with just our family so we did whatever we want whenever we wanted. It was so great....but also missed our big family gatherings. Hope you all had a great Easter!

D.C. trip

2010-03-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took a little trip up to D.C. We have been dying to go since we got to VA and our fun friends from our Chandler street were going to be there visiting family. It was sooo great to see them!! I got to see Maddy about a month ago but this time she brought the whole clan! It made me realize how much I really miss my old neighbors! We were a pretty close group of friends.
Noah took the day off Fri. so we headed up in the morning. We stopped at the Williamsburg outlets to take part in Gap friends and family and then the drive takes 4+ hours so we didn't get there until about 2. The reunion was great! The kids just kind of laughed when they saw each other. Maddy's Dad took Brody and Nate to a gun show and the rest of us headed to Frying pan park. It was the coolest park. It was more like a petting farm park.

Ronan loved catcin a ride on Lukes stroller

And he has been obsessed with babies lately so he was loving on Luke.

Later that night we ate at 5 guys. It was super delish and can't wait to go again. Maddy's Dad treated us all...they were the best hostesses! Then that night we had the 3 older Roger kids over to sleep at our hotel. It was a little crazy but the kids loved it!! Until we got a knock at the door with the man under us telling us to be quiet...haha it was funny!

The next day was all business. We had a mission to see as much as we could with 6 kids.

We started at Arlington cemetery. This was my favorite place we saw. There are signs all over telling you to be quiet to honor those who lost their lives. It was really peaceful and beautiful.

The Eternal Flame (where the Kennedy's are buried)

The Tomb of the unknown Soldier. This was so fun to see! We walked up just in time to see the changing of the guards...which is amazing.

A view of some of the tombs. These white tombs go on for as long as you can see!

Next we made the long trek to the Lincoln Memorial. It was probably about 2 miles! The kids did so great.

Washington Monument in the background

Korean War Memorial. This was cool to see since my Grandpa Doane fought in this war.

WWll Memorial...go AZ!!

Later that evening, the Rogers offered to watch our kids while we went to the Temple. I had never seen it and boy was it the most beautiful building you have ever seen!! Especially at night. You drive through this awesome park with cool huge houses all over and then up on a hill is the Temple. Seriously so excited I finally got to go!!
Sorry for the bad picture. We only had Noah's iphone...with no flash.

It was the perfect trip. Perfect weather, very little traffic (which is amazing for dc), and perfect company. Thx Roger and Joachim families for making our first D.C. trip so special!!

This A-mazing lady...

2010-03-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Graced us with her presence this past weekend. I will never forget it.

So, if you didn't know..Gladys Knight is a Mormon...yup...Mormon! For the past several years, Gladys Knight has been touring all over the States to deliver her testimony of the Gospel through her music. Let me tell you...it's the most amazing thing you have ever heard! She travels with her choir, the Saints Unified Voices (SUV), and they set up right in the stake center. Our Virgina Beach stake was privileged to have the fireside here, they usually do 2 shows...we got 5!! She is the cutest thing you have ever seen and so down to earth. I love how excited she was to share her testimony and love of Jesus Christ. She truly inspired me to be a better person, and more faithful servant. Not to mention the music...they brought down the house! I seriously didn't want it to end!!
At the end of the show, investigators were able to fill out a request card for a package she will have the missionaries bring to you. I think I heard that after the 5th show our stake had close to 500 referrals...just from the show! Our stake is truly being blessed and our little missionaries are going to have their work cut out for them. Anyway, I know most of my readers are probably LDS, but for those who are not and would like to request a copy of the Book of Mormon or even ask questions about our beliefs go here.
I am thankful every day that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It has blessed my life beyond measure.

2 unexpected visitors...

2010-03-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

So, Thursday around 5:00pm we get a knock at the door, open it up and see a balloon attached to a box of popcorn. We popped the balloon and it said we were being sent on a scavenger hunt and to go outside and start looking for the next clue. We all went outside and found 5 more balloons with different clues...and the last one said that the last clue is waiting in our apt. So we went back inside, found a red balloon attached to a Mounds bar. Inside it said who do you know that loves Mounds bars? My Mom is about the only person I know who loves them but I thought No way could they possibly be here! Then the note said to go look in the pantry for a surprize......

We found these two!...with tears already filling up. I could not believe it! They completely surprised us!! I kept asking How did you...when did you...what??? Then they told me that Noah was in on it and had known for the past two weeks! I was dying that they got me that good.

We had so much fun. We made cookies, went to the beach (since the weather has been A-mazing), went to dinner, went to church, played games, watched A.I. Friday night Noah and I had a party to go to so my Mom and Dad took the kids shopping and let them pick out a toy then they had a pizza party and watched movies all night. Every night Brody and Sadie slept on the floor next to my Mom...they said they wanted to have a slumber party ever night...and they did! My Mom learned real quick that Sadie is a night owl and will talk your ear off all night!

I had to show off my new necklace that My Mom got me for my birthday. It's from Vestige Jewelry. If you live in AZ and still have not gone...seriously do yourself a favor! Or if you are out of town go here to check her out on Etsy.

It was a little sad when we had to say goodbye but at least summer is coming real soon and will get to visit everyone!
We even made a chain to start the countdown. We are not sure on the exact day we will get to AZ but we put 112 days on the chain. Yikes! That sounds like a lot!

Thanks so much M0m and Dad for a great weekend! We loved every second of it!

Oscars...

2010-03-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

Could not get enough of...

Loved the dress...hated her hair

Cutest couple

Seriously love these two!

Favorite dress of the night

What were they thinking??:

Enough said...

Liked her dress but her face was creeping me out!

Worst red carpet interviewer EVER!

She is one of my all time fav's...but her dress has to go
There you have it! My picks for the Oscars. I thought it was overall great! Who did you like and hate?

March!!

2010-03-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

I am so happy to be in March! I feel like February dragged on forever...maybe because it's so gloomy and cold here in February. March already seems to be looking brighter and warmer! Can you believe we have already been here for 7 months?! That's crazy to me! Noah finishes classes end of next month then will take a couple summer classes and we will be on our way to AZ!! For a few weeks at least. I have been getting so anxious about going home but I need to remember it's still 4 months away.

Here are some random pics in no rhyme or reason in honor of March!...

Before Noah and I went to bed one night we checked on the kids and found Ronan like this...dead asleep!

Brody's Valentine box for school.

I guess he can sleep anywhere....

Valentine pops!

2010-02-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

I want to win this!!!

Go here to read the details...

Need some suggestions...

2010-02-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

It has already started...

Mid terms and preparations for finals. That means late lonely nights for me.

Need some good book suggestions.

I just finished Hunger Games and Catching fire which were good but the third doesn't come out for several months.

Have any that you are raving about? I would love to hear about it! Thx in advance!

What we have been up to..

2010-02-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

I have been such a slacker on taking pictures lately! I think it's my crappy camera...no motivation. Although I don't have many pictures to prove it we have been super busy lately.

I hosted Bunko last weekend. It was sooo much fun and made me think of all my favorite Bunko peeps in AZ. I was planning on taking pics of it all but ran out of time then forgot when it was over. It was a Valentine Bunko. All the prizes were something to do with Valentines and served yummy soup in bread bowls. It was a super fun night!

Have you been seeing us on the news lately? Virginia has had two huge snow storms in the past two weeks which usually never happens! They say this is the coldest, snowiest, rainy winter in 10 years! Of course..the year we decide to come! At first it was so fun but now I'm praying for warm weather. Layering up three kids 5 times a day gets old pretty fast. Last week we had to see for our own eyes snow on the beach. And we found some! It wasn't a lot but we found some.

Off to church! Trying to get three kids to stay out of the snow in their church clothes by yourself gets old too. I can now say I have driven in snow! And I'm getting pretty good at it too!

Funnest birthday party ever! Brody's best friend Kellen turned 6 and had is party and a bounce house. Brody and Sadie had so much fun.

Have I mentioned my third child is trying his best to make me not have anymore kids? Well, he is crazy. The past few months he has stepped up his game in a big way! He will climb on anything and everything, open and dump out anything, write on and ruin anything in sight, you name it..he can destroy it! (We actually call him the destroyer..and he responds to it now!) We had to put a lock on our Fridge but he learned how to unlock it in few weeks. Then we put a second one up higher. The other day Noah watched (Ronan didn't see Noah watching) him open the cuboard next to the fridge stand on the shelf and unlock the second lock! The kid will get into anything! He has cracked up to a dozen eggs on my floor, poured out all the Raspberry ice crystal light on the carpet, pour out all the water from the Brita jug, open all the butter and leave a million bite marks all over it, squeeze mustard all over, and today I found an unopended diet coke can in his room. I mean seriously! My house is not that big..it's not like I'm ever too far!! He is just so quick! He has decided he only needs an hour (tops!) nap now. He would rather drink a gallon of milk then eat anything during the day. Yesterday at church he Said "Dadda" about 20 times loud enough the whole congregation would turn and look at him. He hates to get bucked in his carseat and screams for the first 5 min. of wherever we are going. The list could go on! BUT I do have to say, I could not imagine my life without him. He brings so much to our family. He is by far the most cuddly child I have ever had and I love it more than anything. He is definitely the baby of the family and I love it. There are no babies in the near future so he will just have to keep being the baby until it's time.

Brody teaching little man to play the Wii. He loved it and thought he was really doing something.

And lastly...I got to see Maddy!!! She is my friend from our old street. She was visiting her sister who lives in Williamsburg, which is about an hour away so I got to drive up and spend the day with them! Actually all night too! I totally got snowed in and didn't want to risk driving on the icy roads at night so I ended up spending the night. We had so much fun. We shopped at the outlets, ate out at a cute little restaurant, saw When in Rome, played games, watched food network, held Maddy's new niece (who is amazingly adorable) and just caught up on everything. She (by Casey's request) made me sign up for Facebook while I was there. I just don't get what the big deal is about it. I'm not really into it but I promised I would try!
We had so much fun I forgot to take any pics!!

Noah has been busy with school and Bishopric But doing great at them both. He comes home everyday for lunch and it's the highlight of my day.

Things are good for us! Now if we could just get rid of this dang cold weather!!

Snow snow and more snow...

2010-01-30T10:51:00.000-08:00

It has been dumping all day and does not look like it's going to let up any time soon.

The kids are in heaven! They want to play outside but after 5 minutes they are crying because it's too freezing.

We have been cooped up inside and it makes for a cranky family...plus we just heard church may be canceled tomorrow! Yikes!

(Maddy, pack your winter coat...you are going to freeze your fanny off!!)

2010-01-28T17:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Noah's birthday. He is officially old!! He turned 30.

Just wanted to tell you (again) how much I love you and how amazing you are. You are the glue in our family.

We had a nice quiet dinner with the family last night to celebrate. It was perfect and just what he wanted. I made his all time favorite meal...Fillet, ceasar salad, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, garlic bread...and brownie for dessert since he is not a birthday cake guy.

Noah's phone was constantly ringing yesterday with Birthday wishes. He really felt the love..thank you!

Things just got...interesting.

2010-01-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

2nd semester of Law school
3 kids
New city
No family
No money
Freezing cold weather

Heavenly Father REALLY wants to test us and keep us on our toes...

This past Sunday Noah was sustained as the 2nd counselor in our ward.
We are still a little shocked. We know it will take lots of hard work and many many prayers to get through this next couple years..but we also know we can do it with faith in the Lord. Meeting with our Stake Pres. last week was a night I will never forget. It brought me to tears how strong the spirit was. And the testimony Pres. bore will be with me forever. It was exactly what I needed to hear to give me the confidence while accompanying Noah through this journey. I know Noah was chosen by Heavenly Father through our amazing new Bishop. Noah will be great and I'm sure our ward will soon love and follow him as I already do.

Noah's parents came in to town this past weekend. I am always amazed at how wonderful they are. They heard the news and were on a plane in 2 days! I mean seriously..who does that? Sunday was a crazy day so it was so great to have them here to help with everything.

I got a little glimpse of what Sunday's will be like for Ronan. Let me just say...he does NOT like seeing Noah up on the stand. We will be hanging out in the hall for quite some time I'm sure.

(blah! This is why I am starting my diet! Our night out at Red Robin before Noah's parents left)

Baby Anne

2010-01-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

I got really home sick when I heard the news of this sweet arrival...

(Sorry for the blurriness...don't know how to change that)

The break..

2010-01-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

This past Christmas was so different than any other Christmas. It was so fun to have Noah home for 2 weeks. I feel like we got so much done...It's amazing what you can get done with your husband home all day! The kids loved it and kind of forgot why he had to go back to school today.
Our Christmas was so great! Between "Santa" and Grandparents, our kids were spoiled beyond measure. I'm mean really...I don't think we can fit one more toy in this apt! We had a great time hanging out with friends and just enjoying the break. Our good friends the Saunders, had us over for Christmas Eve and Christmas and they made us feel right at home. My kids could play for hours at their fun house.
New Years, we spent at the Fawsons. Josh is also a Law student and they just live down the walk way. The kids were dying to stay up all night so they did...till 1:30am actually! They were still bouncing off the walls till we made them go to bed. They had so much fun.
Thx for all the fun Christmas cards...it was probably the best part of my Christmas this year.
I am really looking forward to 2010! Mine and Noah's goal is to get in shape! I feel like I have put on the "Freshmen 15"..haha!

This is from our little trip to Williamsburg. We found some snow so the kids wanted to make a snow man. Noah made a little 6in. one and they were not impressed. But they had fun having a snowball fight! (this picture was taken before they all got winter gear for Christmas...gloves, hats, earmuffs)

So, Christmas eve at about 10:00 Noah and I started to get things ready and realized Ronan and Sadie's Santa presents were in storage and it closed at 9:00!! I was freaking out and was so sad. I told Noah he needed to break in until we realized Sadie's bike was in the back of Noah's truck. (We got her bike on Craigslist for$15 and it needed some "cleaning up" so we had forgot that we put it in there the week before) We thought Ronan could do without his present until Noah could go get it in the morning. After Noah got it out of storage he put it on the doorstep with a note from Santa that said he got too busy putting all the toys together and asked if we could help put it together for Ronan. The older two bought right into it!

Putting out the Reindeer food!

We toured the Nauticus ship in Norfolk. The kids loved every bit of it...except for the fact that it was FREEZING! We were not prepared for how cold it was.
Bundling up for a bike ride around the Village...

The hustle and bustle...

2009-12-19T20:23:00.000-08:00

Why is it that the week before Christmas is always insanely crazy busy?? I guess it wouldn't be Christmas without it. Hopefully this coming week we can sit back and enjoy the Christmas season.
This past week consisted of:

*Ward Christmas party
*Teaching pre-school (we added 2 more kids making a total of 5 4yr. olds!)
*Doing lots of hair
*Updating primary stuff for the new year
*Helping in Brody's class
*Delivering our Christmas salsa gifts
*Mommy luncheon
*Noah finishing up his first semester of Law school and 6 finals (glad to welcome him back in our family)
*Putting up more shelving in the pantry/laundry room
*Won a $50 gift card for 1 of 3 best doors in the Village

And tonight we got to end the night with this....
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SNOW!!!!!

By the time I remembered to take a picture, the kids were too cold to go back outside. So I took one of myself!! Had to ducument our first "White Christmas"!!!

Merry Christmas.

2009 Wrap Up

2009-12-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to send out "the letter" along with our Christmas cards but Jill would remind me that we see or talk to almost all of our family and friends quite frequently, so why bother with an update? Well, as usual, she was right. But now we are in Virginia and I thought, "Ah ha, this is the year for the letter!" We definitely haven't seen anybody (skype doesn't count) in a good while and rarely talk to our friends and family back home. Unfortunately, we've already sealed the envelopes and I got out voted for quickly writing a letter, opening all the cards and putting them in new envelopes with the letters. So I thought the blog would be the next best thing...

This past year has taught me quite a bit. I can't believe I dragged my family across the country for three years. Pretty wild what we do just going on "a feeling." I remember coming home from work and telling Jill I wanted to go to law school. She thought I was joking. I mean, why wouldn't she, I had never mentioned anything remotely related to it, ever. She said, "Are you serious?" "Yep." She replied, "O.K." After that, she was on board 100% and with that green light, we started preparing. It has been a roller coaster ride (think of the your favorite ride at Magic Mountain x 100) ever since and we've been learning and loving every step of the way. I miss my co-workers at "E-Z" and am grateful for how much I grew while there. This new chapter has also been an eye opener. In just this first semester I've realized how important one's perception is. Most people I talk to say how being married and having kids would put me at a disadvantage here in school because they take up so much time. That couldn't be further from the truth, it's actually the exact opposite. I wouldn't be able to be as effective or efficient if it weren't for them. I love being able to come home for lunch every day, go to the park, do the bus stop thing, or just read books together in the evenings. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Jill is still as awesome as ever. I tease her that she has more friends than I do here. Having said that, who wouldn't want to be her friend? It's a no brainer. She stays busy at home with the kids and makes life exciting for them in our little apartment. They do a lot outside if you know what I mean. Her and some other neighbor gals started a pre-school which has been quite a treat. I've sat in on a few lessons and she does a great job teaching these little tykes. The ward saw what they had in her right away and roped her into the Primary Presidency. She's a seasoned veteran when it comes to the primary thanks to our Cooper Ward back in C-Town. I'm always amazed at how much patience she shows towards the kids. She was able to further develop her organizational skills this year as well. She had the house packed up days before we headed out to Virginia and the move went off with out a hitch. Her packing was so professional and tight fitting that we even had room in the moving truck for the piano! (if this doesn't make sense, I guess you just had to be there) Then, once we unpacked here, we decided to do it all over again a few weeks later. She was so happy about that! At least it was worth it though.

Brody has been impressing us quite a bit as of lately. He turned 6 a few weeks ago and is certainly growing up. You can't get anything by him, believe me, I've tried. He finished up a year of kindersteps and is now in kindergarten. The kid loves learning. A few highlights are: he learned how to tivo his own shows, usernames and passwords for the computer, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and reading (not completely). He loves primary and singing all the songs. He is a great help to mom and the family at the house and he always lets his little brother tag along. You have to be careful with how you answer any of his questions because he'll tell you when you're not 100% right, for example, "Dad, is everybody getting ready for bed right now? (at like 9:30 pm)." "Yea, I think so." "Well, what about the people on the other side of the world, like China?" He totally gets that from Jill. We love him and his sweetness.

Sadie lady is also growing, and so is her attitude. She is our little pistol, but she's so stinky cute, you can't really get upset at her. This year has been much more calm for her than in years past, I mean, she didn't flood the house, get hit by a car, or have any major surgeries! She has made so many friends here and also just fits right in. She sings to herself all the time, mostly when she should be going to sleep. She's still into dressups and looking fancy with jewelry, painting her nails and having pretty hair. She even gave herself bangs thinking she knew more than her mom (uh hello...mom is a hair stylist...what was she thinking???). I think after this year she has only solidified what we've thought all along; that we're gonna have our hands full for quite some time with this special lady.

Rone is now 18 months and has graduated to the nursery. Well, almost. He's not really into it yet...actually, not at all. He's showing how different he is than his brother and sister. He loves to be around mom and dad, as for other people...not so much. He can drool with the best of them, I'm talking soaked from the collar to the belt. I counted the drool drips on him tonight, he had one from each side of his mouth that were dripping from his chin (2) a second coming out one side making its way southbound(3) and one dangler off his bottom lip (4 total). He earned himself a new name as well, destroyer. He doesn't care about ruining anything. Important stuff, unimportant stuff, furniture, dishes, books, markers, you name it, he can destroy it. It just another day to him. It's impossible to keep him out or away from anything. He's learning new words and tries really hard (really hard, it's hilarious) to say them. He just learned how to crawl out of the crib and roll into mom and dad's room at 2:00 am. After "converting" his crib to a bed, he can now come and go as he pleases and thinks he hit jackpot because we can't keep him in his bed anymore. But we can reverse the doorknob and lock him in!

We recognize how blessed we have been throughout 2009. Being away from family and friends has been a challenge but we've been able to adjust with a new family of friends. There is something about being on "your own" that really forces you to kick it up a notch (as my father-in-law would say). It's been a great ride so far and I'm sure it will keep getting better every year. We miss and love you all. Merry Christmas.

Need a Christmas gift idea?

2009-12-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

My Aunt Karen is the most talented and creative person I know. She has been selling her gems awhile now and every time I see something new I die. You can't go wrong with one of these one of a kind pieces! She does drop in shopping at her home in Mesa every Wed. from 10-5. Or if you are out of town..give her a call and she will send it to you.

Check out her blog here for more fun stuff. Just getting to see her amazing house is worth the stop!

Until June 30th...

2009-11-21T17:27:00.000-08:00

..which is when I get to do it all again but for Eclipse!!

I got to go the the funnest party ever the night New Moon came out. A Law professors wife and daughter invited some of the Law wives over for a little pre party. They went above and beyond! Every nook and cranny had something to do with New Moon. They had different rooms set up for different scenes of the movie..."La Push" room, "Italy" room, "Cullen" room. They had an amazing dinner, red chocolate fountain with everything you can think up to dip in it, games, prizes, quotes, goody bags..you name it they did it. They were so gracious to let us come over and help us all forget about all this craziness of finals going on! I didn't play any of the games because I had read the books so long ago and didn't want to re-read them. So after they gave out all the prizes they had the losers put their names in a bowl for the door prize, guess who one?? Me!! And, it was the best prize of them all (at least that's what I thought). It was a great night.
So after the party, Me and Katrina headed over to meet up with some church friends to see the movie. We had so much fun waiting for it to start. I thought the movie was great! I hated Jacob in the book but now he is starting to grow on me. I was so mad at the end but loved how it just left you hanging...just like the book! Eclipse comes out June 30th and I am already counting down the days!

This is a first for us...

2009-11-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of the term Nor'Easter?? Well, we for sure had not until yesterday. A Nor'Easter is the crazy storm we have been dealing with the past two days. It has been raining cats and dogs for 48 hours!! With wind gusts up to 60 miles/hour! I woke up at 5:30 this morning to my phone ringing with a recording telling me Brody's school had been canceled due to the storm and flooded roads. Then to find out Noah's school was canceled too! Are you kidding me? Living in AZ, we never had school canceled, so this was pretty fun for us. We ventured out to the mall today but other than that we have been cooped up in the house for 2 days straight. We are going to go crazy real soon. Oh ya...and Brody's school is canceled tomorrow too!

Here is a few pics from the past 2 days.

Here in VA Beach, rain boots, rain jacket, and umbrellas are a necessity!

If you can't find Ronan..he is sure to be here. Catchin the rain out of the roof gutter.

Off to pre-school. It was crazy windy right here, so she was a little scared to walk to her teachers house.

We went to a neighbors house tonight and this is what happened to Brody's unbrella! We all almost got blown away...we were no match!

My sweet stud muffin turned 6 today!! He has had a great Birthday so far...and more to come! I'll recap his birthday after his party on Saturday.

Stay dry all you VA friends!!

Where did October go?

2009-11-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

This month has seriously flown by too fast. October is one of my favorite months so I am sad to see it come to an end. We have been staying busy busy which is good so we don't realize how much we miss our family and friends! We are in full FALL here in VA! I love to see all the different colors on the trees and leaves on the ground. It's been a little warm and humid for this time of year but this week is looking to be chilly and perfect. I am so ready to break out the winter clothes!

We started the month off by delivering our"BOO" treats. We actually got caught but they were very excited to see our pumpkin bars. (my fav fall treat)

I just finished my week of teaching pre-school. We had a fun time making Halloween crafts and and decorating pumpkin rice krispes. These three pre-schoolers are getting so smart!!

The bus stop crowd

I volunteered to do Brody's kindergarten Halloween party, which I must do every year. I love Halloween and I love how kindergartners love any thing you do! Brody's teacher was so nice to let Sadie join right in with the rest of the class. She will start kinder next year so she may end up with Brody's teacher..kinda funny. They did a parade around the school and in the office. They all were so proud of their costumes.

Me and Katrina. She was their helping with her daughters party also. Thanks to her for my costume!!

Noah's Mom has a fun pumpkin carving party every year, since we are not there we decided to have our own. Brody did his 100% by his self! He was pretty proud of it. I tried a new approach by shaving the outside of my pumpkin...it turned into a giant apple.

Sorry for the bad lighting..

And Ta Da!!...
The cutest Iron man, Ariel, and cowboy you have ever seen!

Just check out those wrangler buns!

You are not allowed to trick or treat in our Apt. complex so we headed over to the ward Trunk or Treat. It was our first...and possibly our last. Trick or treating in a neighborhood is waaay more fun! The kids were done in about 15 min.! Though it was really fun to see all our church friends dressed up. We are on the look out for a good neighborhood for next year.

Checkin out the LOOT! We let Ronan eat anything and everything...he has never been so happy.

So that is our October festivities. Can't wait for Thanksgiving!
And...a big shout out to Noah for scoring the second highest grade in his class on his mid term. All those long hours at the library are paying off!

Our visitors!

2009-10-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

With pretty much all my family living in AZ my whole life, we never ever had any visitors stay at our house but I always wanted to be able to host a visitor. Now that we are away from family we finally get to play host and hostess! Last week Noah's Mom and sister had a reunion in Mississippi and then drove to stay with their Dad in S.C. The last few days of their trip they drove up to stay with us and we had sooo much fun! The kids were going crazy to having them here! The weather last week was actually really warm and sunny for this time of year (so they tell me) so it was great to be able to get out and enjoy the weather. We headed down to the beach and showed them what V.B. is all about. It was a great beach day! Water was freezing but fabulous weather. We went to Brody's school book fair, pumpkin patch/carnival, colored pumpkins and enjoyed the great company.
Our door is open for the next visitor!!

Testing the waters with Photoshop..

2009-10-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

Crossing my fingers...

2009-10-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

The new place....

2009-10-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

I finally took pictures of the new house. Things are pretty tight here but we are making things work. You just have to be really creative with where to put things! We didn't have a washer and dryer for the first 3 weeks! We didn't bring ours because the other house had them and this one you have to bring your own. Let me just tell you it was not fun...especially when your 4 yr. old still has a bed wetting problem and your 1 yr. old was throwing up for 3 days! BUT...a fabulous family in our ward gave us their old ones! It was the biggest blessing ever. I didn't even know what to say...I was beyond grateful.

Sadie's room
(I was still catching up on laundry at this point if you can't tell)

There is a lot going on in this tiny room.
Laundry room, Pantry, Microwave and toaster room, yr. supply room, hair chair storage, water heater/air conditioning unit.

Dining area. For some reason it just looks odd having a high chair next to a piano...:)

Kitchen

Family room

Master bdrm/office/craft room

Brody and Ronan's room
(this room is actually really big!)

So there has been quite a lot of talk of Noah riding my bike to school. He gets made fun of on a daily basis (which he could care less). But really it's not like it's pink or anything. Since this pic I took the basket off so it's not too bad.
In the back ground is what the apt looks like. They are real cute! Everyone has a porch to keep bikes and what not on. Ours is filled to the max. It looks pretty funny because our neighbors don't have one thing on their porch so we look a little WT.

Brody and Rone being cute.

I went to a hardcore bow making night with some of the student wives. I learned lots of new tricks! They even use a lighter to stop the ends of the ribbon from fraying...who new? I learned how to make these cute pom pom bows. I love them and they are really easy!
Sadie's bangs are coming in nicely. If I slick them down, you really can't even tell they are 1 inch short.

I just got all my Halloween decor all put up! I'm so excited for Halloween! The kids are getting really excited about dressing up. Brody wants to be Iron Man. Sadie wants to be Ariel but I'm trying to talk her into being a dress up we already have. Ronan is being a cowboy....wranglers and all...I get so happy just thinking about him in wranglers and boots!
Have a great week!

Survived the 2nd move in 6 weeks!

2009-09-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it. We moved. It wasn't pretty but, we are in, settled and just about all done putting the house together. It was a long and busy week last week but we are soooo loving our new place! I'll take pics of the house tomorrow. Maybe even a video tour!
Brody had his first Soccer game last Saturday. He did great and loved it! When I took his picture he said he wanted it to look like he was kicking the ball. Love him.
Sunday, Noah and I had to speak in church. Ugh! I hate speaking, but so glad it's over with. Later that evening we had a fun visitor from home. Kyle Worthen! He is here selling pest control for a few weeks without his family so we had him over for dinner. It's so funny to see a face from AZ in VA. We loved having him over.
Sadie started pre-school this week. She is loving every minute of it. She actually gets mad when I come to get her because she wants to stay. Two other Mom's and I are doing our own pre-school and I think it's going to be great! It's my turn next week...I'm so excited!
Noah is still doing great at school. He has been riding my bike to school because I won't let him take his with the baby seat on the back. But mine has a wicker basket and flowers, so I guess it's not much better.
Things are good! Miss everyone who is not here!!!

First day of kindergarten

2009-09-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Brody finally had his turn to start school. It was raining like crazy all day so it made for a very wet and soggy first day. No recess. Maybe they will get to play lots of heads up 7up here!

2nd day at the bus stop. He gets to ride the bus to and from school and absolutely loves it. He had a great couple of days and loves every bit of kindergarten!

Things are changing...

2009-09-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

First things first...Today was an amazing 75 degrees. Sept. 1 and in the 70's! I ran to the store this evening and actually wished I had thrown a jacket on! That is definitely something new to me. Fall is right around the corner here and I could not be more excited! I have never had a "real" fall so things should be so fun the next few months. The leafs actually fall OFF the trees here! Oh, I can't wait.

Next order of business..and this is big. We are moving again. I get a pit in my stomach just writing that. We are going to be moving to Regent student housing next week. Long story short...we decided EVERYTHING would be better for us if we were living in the student housing. So that is what we are going to do.
Here is just some of the reasons:
this is the biggy...we will save $500 a month!
we will be across the street from Noah's school.
85% of the student families live there and all the kids play outside all day long (at our house now, our kids have played with only 2 kids)
they have a soccer team for the kids starting in two weeks (and only costs $15!)
they have lots of get togethers.. like a fall festival.
no more having to keep up our crazy lawn that takes so much time to maintain.
most of our fun friends who we have met live there.
it's just going to be soooo great...I'm really excited...but not for moving again.

Things are going to get a little crazy the next couple weeks so I will post when things settle down and get moved in...again! Oh and by the way, I just got made the primary secretary! I'm a little nervous but so excited.

It was actually raining in this picture but you can't tell

Noah is so nice and actually lets the kids do everything when making cookies

We had the funnest day at Sandbridge beach with our fun friends the Saunders.

All boy

Random pics from Noah's phone

2009-08-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Testing out the moving truck

Skip the toothbrush...straight for the toothpaste!

Sadie turned 4 last month and picked to eat at PPP. She had so much fun with Mom and Dad.

A very tired Belle.

The ASU graduate!

Future plumber Dad?

No, I'm not joking

2009-08-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

This picture does not even give me justice. I think I have close to 30 mosquito bites just on my feet and legs.

Last night I was about to pull my hair out from how bad my legs itched so I looked up how to get rid of the itch and it said to rub baking soda and water all over. It actually worked but before I went to bed I wiped it off. I woke up around 2 am and wanted to chop off my legs. Pretty much, I didn't sleep after that.
I will never go to an outdoor party and stay for 4 hours without pants or heavy duty bug spray again!!!

2009-08-17T19:09:00.001-07:00