Snowed in...

...is what we were for most of last week. Schools, work, Little Gym and everything else was closed for most of last week! We kept busy hiding out at neighbors' homes, scrapbooking, birthday parties (luckily it was just down the street) and playing in the basement. One day with Keith came home from work the snow was perfect for building snowballs and snowforts, so "my boys" played outside while I shot some pictures. My oldest boy (Keith) enjoyed throwing snowballs at all the neighbors out shoveling their driveways (sorry Linda, Kelly and Tammy) and took the boys for a "sled ride" around the block!

New beds, Sleepovers and Special Drawers.

We made the transition into the big boy bed this weekend. We finished painting Carter's room this week and his bunkbeds and other furniture arrived Thursday. We still have some finishing touches (hanging things on the wall), but overall I think it turned out great (pictures coming soon)! And the transition went way more smoothly than expected.

Carter is so proud of his new bunk beds! The first night he went to bed great but woke up a couple times in the night (and I must have snuck in to check on him ten times), but since then he's done great!

Ty is just as excited (if not more). He's allowed to sleep on the top when he doesn't have school the next morning and they both love it! I hear them whispering before they fall asleep and in the morning when they wake up. The other night I went in to tuck Ty in and he told me he felt like he was "floating."

They even had a sleepover on the beds with their cousin, Zach, the other night.

Carter has accepted the new room as his now (he hadn't before) and even has designated one of his drawers as his "special spot." Each night before bed he puts something in his special drawer. As of tonight the drawer is full of: playdough (in the container thank goodness), a kitchen towel (I have no idea...), a Propel bottle, his Ohio State jersey and a bowl of Chex mix. Such a goof!

School Survey

My roommate, Ashley, sent this email to me and I decided it would be fun to post it here rather than email to everyone.

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be!!

1. Did you date someone from your school?
Yes and then I married him!

2. Did you win anything in Senior's Who's Who?
Nope

3. What kind of car did you drive?
My friend Sarah and I had matching Nissan Sentras, but mostly I was in one of Keith's cars.

4. It's Friday night...where r u?
Dancing at either the football or basketball halftime shows--man I loved Friday nights!

5. Were you a party animal?
I don't think so.

6. Were you considered a flirt?
Keith would definitely say yes.

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
Nope

8. Were you a nerd?
I don't think so

9. Did you get suspended/expelled?
No, I was a good girl.

10. Can you sing the fight song?
I know the tune, but not the words.

11. Who were your favorite teachers?
I feel bad, but I don't have any. My favorite class was SITES though.

12. Where did you sit during lunch?
That's a wierd question...with my friends?

13.What was your school's full name? North Olmsted High School

14. School mascot? Eagles

15. Did you go to Homecoming and who with?
Yes, I went with Tracy Dowe my first year and Keith every year after that.

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
Most of it.

17.What do you remember most about graduation?
I remember driving downtown with Molly Gallagher with our white sunglasses.

18. Where did you go senior skip day?
Cedar Point of course

19 Were you in any clubs?
I was on the drill team and a member of the National Honors Society (but I was not a nerd). My friends and I joined a bunch of random clubs our junior and senior year just so we could put them on our college apps, but I don't think we ever attended them (except for yearbook picture day!)

20. Have u gained some weight since then?
Currently? Yes. But when I'm not pregnant I'm pretty close.

21. Who was your Senior prom date?
Guess who? Keith both years.

22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? I was planning on going until it was cancelled!

23. Who was your home room teacher?
I think it was Mrs. Merrill?

24. Do you still talk to people from school?
Just my pink pearls and Keith's boys.

Fill this out about your College years! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be!!

1. Did you date someone from your school?
Yes

2. Where'd you live?
Dorm Five, Carriage House Apartments and The Branbury Apartments.

3. What kind of car did you drive?
Volkswagon Jetta

4. It's Friday night...where r u?
Most likely doing something totally crazy with my roommates. Loved them!

5. Were you a party animal?
In a good mormon girl kind of way.

6. Were you considered a flirt?
Of course

7. Did you study?
Yes

8. Were you a nerd?
Of course not. Just kidding, I agree with Ash, are there really nerds in college?

9. Did you get good grades?
Yes, I worked my butt off.

10. Can you sing the fight song?
Nope

11. Who were your favorite professors?
Again, don't really remember any in particular, but I really liked most my professors, especially at Ricks.

12. Where did you sit during lunch?
My first year Kecia and I always sat with our "boys" in the "Gally". The rest of the years I usually ate at home or on the quad.

13.What was your school's full name?
Ricks College (Now, BYU Idaho), and Brigham Young University.

14. School mascot?
Vicking and Cougars

15. Did you go to Homecoming and who with?
My first year I went with Bo or Brock (Kecia and I went with twins and I don't remember who went with who), I don't remember who I went with my second year...there were a ton of dances at Ricks and they all blur together. I didn't go to homecoming at BYU.

16. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!

17.What do you remember most about graduation?
Ricks was not really eventful, but my dad came and the trip home was fun--we all stopped at the HotSprings and then my roomies and I took a trip to Vegas and San Diego. I didn't attend my BYU graduation because I was already living back here.

18. How many credits did you take?
usually around 14, but a few sememsters I took 21.

19 Were you in any clubs?
At Ricks I was in the AWS--the women's division of the student body government and loved that! I think I was in one at BYU for my major, I don't remember--it obviously didn't leave much of an impact on me.

20. Have u gained some weight since then?
Only when I'm pregnant.

21. What was your major?
Health Sciences/Community Health Education

22. Who was your worst roommate?
Luckily I was blessed with mostly awesome roommates!!!!

23. Who was your favorite roommate?
Again, I had the best roommates, but I have to say, it Ricks would not have been the same without Kecia!!

24. Do you still talk to people from school?
Yes, as much as I can, but would love to catch up with a ton more!

"C James"

Carter wanted in on the action too. Man this little guy is cute. He was in super "cute" mode today. I love that he totally knows when he is being cute!

My Ty Guy

Ty is in love with his new $2 Old Navy shirt (yes, this is the second day in a row he has worn it, and no, I don't even care!). He asked me today if I would take some pictures of him in it and of course I was in! Here's a few of my favorites. This boy LOVES to pose for the camera!

Happy Valentines's Day?

Well, it started that way.

On Monday for Family Home Evening the boys decorated these "LOVE" mailboxes from Target and all week we left love notes and treats in them. Total hit with the boys. Ty woke up every morning and had to check his "mail." Carter insisted on decorating his entire box with "doggie bones" (the letter I).

They woke up this morning to their final treat in their boxes along with a small gift (books), pink milk (which both totally hated) and scrambled eggs with heart toast.

After Ty's school party and playgroup the boys were eager to come home and sort through all their loot--Ty's favorite part of having a holiday party at school.

While Carter was napping Ty and I made this for Keith when he came. (Whit, LOVED this recipe from your blog, but does yours look this messy?)

And Keith brought me home these.

Keith and I decided to go out to dinner. Nothing romantic considering we had both the boys with us, just the local Mexican restaurant with our neighbors, Ed and Melanie. As we were being escorted to our table Carter projectile (sp?) vomited all over Keith and the floor in front of the entire dining room. We cleaned him up, changed his clothes and he seemed okay so we decided to stay. Everything was going good, Carter seemed fine, our food came and I was holding Carter while I was eating when I felt this warm liquid running down my arm and leg. No, Carter was not spilling his drink on me (well, sort of...). Yep, he threw up again. This time we decided we better call it a night. So thus ended our romantic evening, both Keith and I covered in throw up. Gotta love life with kids!!

Playgroup

Right after Ty's school party we ran over to my neighbor's for a Valentine playgroup. I completely forgot I had my camera with me until the end and had to capture Carter concentration on decorating his cupcake. Loved the sprinkles!


Ignore this picture, not sure how it got here and can't get rid of it.

Ty's School Valentine's Party

I love getting to be a mother's helper at Ty's school holiday parties to see him interact with his classmates! This year I was assigned to the Valentine's party. I wasn't sure about taking Carter with me, but both boys loved it! Carter was THRILLED to get to stay at Ty's school and Ty was so proud of his little brother. It was so cute how he included him in everything and told all his friends about his little brother. Carter especially liked the snack part.

The kids decorated bags last week to deliver their valentine's. So happy we weren't responsible for that on our own!

Carter hanging out with the big boys. So sweet how Ty included Carter in everything. I overheard some of the boys taking about how "cool" that little guy is!

Thanks Ty for sharing your party with us!

Snowed In and Sick

That's what we've been all week. First it was too cold to go out (schools were cancelled) and then there was too much snow. Tuesday we woke up with a sore throat and cold (me), throwing up (Ty) and diarehea (Carter), so needless to say, we stayed in our p.j's all day. Ty threw up just as I was about to get in the shower. I asked him if he just wanted to stay home and have a cuddle day and he said that sounded good.

Mostly we just lounged around (and I scrapbooked), but we did manage to have a "picnic" in the basement for lunch, which broke up the lounging nicely.

I'm looking forward to everyone feeling better and better weather, but it was kind of nice having a "cuddle day."

Wicked

I know I'm back tracking, but I had to post about the awesome night Keith and I had last Wednesday. My parents gave us tickets to see the broadway show Wicked for our birthdays. Our seats were great and the show was every bit as good as I heard it was! I definitely recommend it to anyone who has the chance! My parents watched the boys for us while we made a whole date of it, going out to eat first to a romatic restaurant. It was our "valentines day" before Valentines.

I didn't want to carry my camera around the theater, so I don't have any pictures of the night, but I hadn't posted this picture yet from my friend, Sarah's, wedding this past December, so this seemed like a good time for it.

Here's one more from the wedding. Me and my girls from high school.

Dinosaurs

That's what we went to the Natural History Museum on Saturday to see. Recently Ty had a man come to his school with dinosaur fossils and Ty thought it was so cool; so Keith and I decided to take him to the museum to see more. Honestly, Keith and I were a little disappointed in the whole museum, not so exciting, but the boys didn't seem to mind. My mom came with us and the boys loved showing her around.

The boys had the best time playing in the large "brain" and "discovering" things in the discovery zone.

Happy Birthday Whitney

On my birthday last week my sister posted some not so flattering pictures of me on her blog, so I was going to "honor" her in return for her birthday (think Kalahari slide pictures Whit), but since I'm three days late for her birthday, I decided I better be nice so she might forgive me.

Whitney turned 24 (right?) on Friday, so I decided to list 24 things about my little sister. Here goes...

1. She loves my boys as much as I do!

2. She is a great cook.

3. She makes amazing centerpieces.

4. She is generous.

5. She is creative.

6. She does a great Chinese impression!

7. She understands me like only a few people do.

8. She has a strong testimony of Jesus Christ.

9. She has great style.

10. She can put up with a bossy older sister.

11. She gives thoughtful gifts.

12. She likes things big: hair, jewelry, cars...

Man, this is harder than I thought...just kidding...

13. She is a perfectionist.

14. She can dance almost as good as me. Just kidding, she's way better.

15. She has lots of goals.

16. She is well endowed (sorry Whitney, had to acknowledge that!).

17. She is going to make an awesome mom in July!

18. She has an awesome memory of family events (atleast her version of the events).

19. She is often mistaken for an asian.

20. She is not very neat (atleast in her bedroom).

21. I'm going to miss all her help with the boys when she has children of her own to take care of!

22. She's beautiful.

23. She's sensitive.

and finally...

24. She's my favorite sister!

I Love Sundays

As I have grown up I have come to love Sundays! Some people probably think we are crazy for spending 3 hours at church, but I look forward to that time of learning and renewal. Sunday is the day I take a break from the crazy schedule of everyday life, there are no errands to run, no meetings and appointments, just time to focus on my faith, family and personal goals.



Another favorite (especially on a cold winter day): Sunday naps! Today the boys wanted to take a "family nap" in my bed and I didn't argue! They both brought their pillows in and we snuggled under a comfy blanket. Love these do nothing days!




This next picture is for Whitney and Kecia who have been bugging me for a belly picture. This is my belly today @ 21 weeks.

Honoring Our Beloved Prophet

Many of you may know that the President of our church, Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away last Sunday night at the age of 97 years old.

When Stephanie called me that morning to tell me of his passing, instead of sadness I felt a peace and gratitude. This man lived an amazing life and was a great example to me, serving his Lord and fellowman. I feel blessed to have been alive during his leadership. He is a great example to all people and loved by all who knew him or of him. For more on this man's life visit here. His life is truly an example to all of us!

Funeral services were held yesterday in Salt Lake City and broadcast around the country. Ty and I had the opportunity to attend the broadcast at our church and then we had a "date" after with ice cream on the carousel at Malley's. What a wonderful day!

Ty wanted a turn as the photographer. He took better ones, but they showed my "pregnancy fat face" too much!