A long time ago....

Way back in March Scott was working out of town for the month, so I went with the boys to Oregon to visit with my family. We took the train, and boy was that an adventure! We got onto the train around 5pm, just before dinner. I had backed a simple dinner for that first night. We ate, walked around the train, spent some time in the observation car, played with sticker books, and watched a movie. I was loving the train! So much better than driving just because we could move around. Then between 9 and 10 pm the boys went to sleep. We just had coach tickets so we just crashed in the seats. It was pretty great. Then around 1am, something woke Moses up. He was so tired, he kept crying, then he woke Kael up. They were both up until around 4:30am. They kept crying, so I turned on a movie for them, thinking they would fall right asleep - they ended up staying awake for the entire movie and part of a second! I wasn't loving the train as much at this point. They finally went to sleep and were out for good. Even when a really noisy group of 3 families got on at 5:30 am, waking me up for the day, my boys didn't even stir. We got off the train at 7:30 am. Even with the lack of sleep, the train was WAY better than driving. I got more sleep than I would have if I was trying to drive that distance by myself. And it was so much fun for the boys to go through tunnels and hear the periodic whistle.

While in Oregon, we spent a lot of time outside. Kael especially loved being outside and went out whenever he could. He was Grandpa's little shadow for two weeks, helping to feed cows and do other farm work. When he wasn't with Grandpa, he was with Nana on the tractor or just running around the yard. Moses enjoyed himself, but wasn't loving it like Kael was. He told me later that he didn't like to ride tractors because "they are so dirty and loud." That's Moses for you!

We spent a lot of time playing with cousins. The kids all got along really well. Moses is still telling me that he wants to move in with Tess and Lexi because apparently they have much better toys (guess I should buy him a Barbie?). And he tells me all the time how much he misses Chase.

It was almost Easter, so one morning we got together and dyed Easter eggs and decorated cookies (thanks again Denise for being the Hostess and making all those cookies!). The kids had a really good time.

Just before boarding the train to come home, we went to a pizza place in Portland where they have a bunch of blow-up bouncy toys and a HUGE McDonald's style play place. The kids had a lot of fun and burned off a bunch of energy. I was impressed with Kael's mad climbing skills! I didn't think he would be able to do it, but he climbed up those toys so well! What a little monkey!

There were more pictures than I could post of my trip to Oregon, so to see the complete set click HERE.

Oh Baby, Baby

Pictures of our third! Ultrasounds are usually one of my favorite parts of pregnancy, but this one was a little anticlimactic for me. Scott watched the entire time, but all I could enjoy were his facial expressions. I only got to see a little bit at the end, maybe 3 minutes worth. And the lady seemed a little grumpy and annoyed with my overwhelming desire to see this child's genitals (can't help it - I HAVE to know). At least Scott got to see lots. It's always harder for those males to have any real bonding experiences before the baby is born. :)

Grandpa and Nana

LaShauna's parents came out to visit for a week in February. The boys loved them being here and we got to do a lot of fun things. One day we all went to the waterslides! I think Moses loved going with Grandpa the best....although Moses did fall off the tube while in the slide once! Kael preferred to go with Nana and still talks about going down waterslides with Nana, "Not Grandpa" - Grandpa went a little too fast for little Kael!



While they were here LaShauna and I also got to go on a date night with them, as well as we got to go to the temple together. All in all it was a great visit and the only bad thing was that they eventually had to go home.....and the fact that Nana taught Kael how to snore!

Moses = FOUR

So Moses had his fourth birthday back in February. He is super into surprises lately and is constantly making things that he gives us as a "surprise." So for his birthday we had a SURPRISE PARTY! All his cousins in the area, Grandma and Grandpa, and even Grandpa and Nana from the states were here for a big surprise!

Moses loved it. He also loved his Candyland cake!

Merry Christmas

May this Christmas season be filled with Joy, Peace, and Love.....we know ours is!

Santa

Well, Kael hates Santa this year. We have tried twice and he doesn't want to go near him for any reason at all. Not even for the treats. We have one more try and I might just snap that "screaming-baby-with-Santa" picture. (I secretly think those are kinda cute) Moses does like Santa and the idea of new toys. He doesn't really know what he wants for Christmas this year, so some of the things he asks for are kinda funny. Here is the list he made. 1) Bat (like the kind that have wings and come out at halloween) 2) Rug 3) Stop Sign 4) Antlers 5) a Deer 6) a Star 7) a Bed.

I'm not sure if he was going for words he could spell or what... I think at this point anything will make him happy on Christmas morning.

The only way Kael would even get in the same picture as Santa - on my knee!

Christmas Time!

Scott and I are quite traditional when it comes to Christmas and we insisit on always having a real tree. Whenever we can we go and get a fresh one from the mountains. This year we went with Scott's brother and sister and their families. Talk about a parade - check out all 4-wheelers! It was the best way to get a tree - no hiking for us!

Moses' cousin Brody even had his own mini-quad. Moses loved riding with him on it!

After we each loaded up our tree, we went back to Scott's parents house and helped them with their Christmas Chocolates. Scott's mom makes the yummiest chocolates ever - she's has been teaching me how to make them as well. Moses was learning how to roll the filling this year. He never did figure it out, but we had a lot of fun trying.

Kael just liked getting my black sweater covered in corn starch. He thought he was so funny...

Haha!

Look at what Scott wore to work today! And no, it wasn't on purpose! Poor guy actually had a bad morning, his car wouldn't start (much too cold!) so he was late and he hates being late! So I guess he ran out of the house with two different shoes on. And because he actually has my car today I can't bring him a matching one so he has to go around like this all day today! The bad thing is that only one of those shoes has his special orthotic insert for his arch support. One foot will be very sore latter today. :(

Yummy!

Every year I get together with all the ladies from Scott's family - his three sisters, his sister-in-law and his mom. We all bake about 5 dozen cookies and trade them around. This year I actually made candies, but it's the same idea. We have been doing it for 6 years now! The last few years we have met in Calgary (sort of half way between us) and done some Christmas shopping and gone out to lunch. It's always so fun to sample everyone's creative goodies. And it really feels like a start of Christmas. I love Scott's family am glad I get to be a part of it!

Thank You Aunt Carie, Uncle Colin, Mitchell and Taylor!!!!

So Scott's sister, Carie, brought us her boys' bunk beds. Her boys are too big for them know and my boys are just big enough for them. They love them so much. Moses is already hording toys on the top bunk, which Kael cannot climb up to yet. Moses sleeps on the top and eventually Kael will sleep on the bottom. I just have to get enough guts to move him out of the crib....

Uncle Collin left Moses a little note reminding him to recycle. He knew that Moses wouldn't need a reminder - he's very particular about what gets thrown in which garbage can!