Rendezvous to St. George and Vegas

Every year we always try and escape some of this cold weather by sneaking down to St. George for a week or so and it's so nice to have some fresh sunshine on our skin. We left for St. George right after Jordan's birthday and the weather was still a bit chilly for the first few days but then it warmed right up.
My two boys playing at the park by Entrada
Jared's mom and dad were able to come down for the first few days and since it was still chilly, we decided to see the parade of homes (very worthwhile!) and go on a drive through Zions National park. I'm actually glad we had a few cold days because we usually like to be outside playing at the parks and pools and so we were able to do some sightseeing and go on a drive up through the canyons. We even got to see where the Butch Cassidy movie was filmed.
We saw some cool houses at the Parade of Homes.

Pizza Factory - Yum!



We went on a few long walks and it was so nice just to be outside. My little monkeys love long stroller rides and it seems to lull them to sleep... ahhh.



We left St. George and headed down to Vegas for a few days. There's so much fun stuff to see in Vegas, even for kids. The water show at the Bellagio, all the shops, the lions at the MGM (and the Rainforest Cafe - the kids loved it!), and just all the big hotels and shops.








After a long day my little kids were pooped out and they crashed on our way back to our hotel room. We all had fun being gone, but it's good to be home.

Happy, Happy Birthday Jordan!

My cute little boy just had his FOURTH birthday and we had so much fun celebrating his big day with all of his best friends and family. When Jordan woke up that morning I said, "honey, guess how old you are today? You're 4!" And he said, "No, No, Mom. I'm still 3. After I have my birthday cake I will be 4". So we had to have the official candle and cake ceremony before he graduated to being a big 4-year old. We had his birthday at the Sandy Classic Fun Center; such great place for kids! There were so many busy bodies running around and it was just fun to see all the kids having so much fun. Jordan had the time of his life. Happy birthday honey!






Jordan's preschool had a fun birthday party for him and we all got to sing to our big birthday boy and eat cupcakes with all of his friends. He had so much birthday fun he's already counting down to the next birthday... hopefully that won't creep up on me too soon. If I could I'd freeze him just as he is right now.

Valentine's Day, Monster Trucks, Movies & More

Happy Valentine's Day!! What a great day; I owe a HUGE thanks to my sweeter than ever sister-in-law, Wendy. First, she and Todd bought tickets for my two boys (Jared and Jordan) to see the Monster Jam on Saturday. Jordan has been counting down the days on his calendar since Christmas - so Feb. 14th was a big day for him. And even better, Mike and Jack Henry went, too. And Wendy was so sweet, she even watched our little monkeys while we went out for dinner on V-Day, and at 11:00 PM my kids were still running around and did not want to leave Aunt "Wee's" house. What an angel...

Jared and I had such a great night out; we went to this cozy little place up in Deer Valley called Fireside Dining. I loved this place; each course was served right from one of their fireplaces and it just felt cozy and romantic. Ahhh... Perfect.

Jordan's friend, Dane, joined us for breakfast and the boys all had pink and blue pancakes. Dane just lives a few doors down and so he's always welcome to come over and play (in PJ's and all); we love having him around.
Jared and Jordan off to see the Monster Jam (sorry Austin, maybe next year) :-(
All the boys at California Pizza Kitchen before the Monster Jam.


All of the fun and excitement = a very tired little boy.
Since Bolt was such a hit with our kids, Tiffany and I took the kids to see Bolt again at the Dollar movies. Jordan was glued the entire time.. and Austin sat through the entire movie (that's a first!) These kids were just too cute; after the movie they got a little snuggly and they were giving each other hugs.
Jordan, Corbin, and Sammy - aren't these kids adorable?

Jared and Austin at the Boat Show

Jackson Machon came over to play a few nights ago and these boys had so much fun chasing each other around with their little pop-guns, watching movies, and making dinosaur sugar cookies. Wouldn't it be fun to be a kid again??

So that's what we've been up to this past week or so. Our mission for this next week is to rearrange the kids' rooms so we can have a place for this new little boy once he arrives (in just about 4 more months... the clock is ticking). So that means moving Jordan down the hall (and a new bed/bedding, paint on the walls, etc. etc.) and moving Austin out of the nursery, and making room for their baby brother. We just put our back seat in the SUV for the first time since we never had a need for it before, so Jordan's trying out the back seat.
I'm really excited about this new little boy (we all are). Jordan likes to tell everyone about his baby brother in mommy's tummy and how we'll have 6 families: Daddy, Mommy, Jordan, Austin, our baby brother, and Indy. Can't leave out the cat, right? So six it is.

Grateful

For some reason this past weekend I just keep thinking about how grateful I am for my little family and these cute boys I have in my life. Let me start with this: I went to get out my camera on Friday to take some pictures and I realized that Jordan had erased all of my pictures for the past few weeks and I had some really cute pictures so I was naturally a little sad, but what's cute about this is he was so proud to show me some of the new pictures he'd taken for me. He took pictures of his trucks, the walls, his shoes, and I had to take a step back and just realize this is what being a mom is all about right?? I'm learning as I go.
That's what started my whole thought process on how grateful I am; I've just been trying to look for all of the positives in my life and there are just so many, so many great little memories and fun moments that I get to enjoy each day of my life. I'm so grateful for my little boys; how cute they are and how much they are starting to really be friends. These kids mean everything to me and I just want to squeeze them every time I see them. Sometimes I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that these days are going to fly by so fast, and not to sweat the small stuff (like blue markers on the carpet, deleted pictures, the list goes on and on). I'm going to miss all of this one day, I just know it!
Secondly, I'm SO grateful for Jared. I love that we can stay up all night talking about everything under the sun, just like when we first met. I love that he tells my boys that "mommy is our princess", and he treats me like one. I love that he's such an awesome daddy and how he wrestles with my kids and they all just roll around on the ground cackling. He treated me to a fun date the other night: market street and a movie, just the two of us, and I just felt all giddy the whole night. I always think this can't get any better but he keeps raising the bar and yes, after almost 10 years it's still getting better. I love him so much and I could write a book on all of the things I love about him.
Thirdly, I'm so grateful for this new little boy that will be here in June, and how I can't wait for him to join our little pack. I'm already picturing my little boys running circles around me, playing out in the backyard with their dad, taking trips down to the sand dunes, camping, etc. etc. I just can't even wait to meet this new little baby boy. I just have a lot to be grateful for and sorry for the very long post, but that's what I've been thinking about all weekend so I had to write it all down!
My cute little boys




Jordan, Dane, and Corbin swimming at Dimple Dell
Jordan and Corbin - aren't they cute? These two boys are buds!