EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF SNOW = FUN!

This past Wednesday, January 25th, ended up having great outdoor temperatures AND even a little bit of snow, so we took the opportunity to finally get to play in the snow!  I made sure to leave work, right away when I could, to pick the boys up from daycare.  We got home, got bundled up, and headed outside to play.  Not even our whole backyard was covered with snow, but there was enough for us to play in and it just so happened to be perfect "snowball snow!"  Tyler and Brady had an absolute blast and loved every second of being outside in the snow.  They loved throwing snowballs, making snow angels, sledding, and trying to make a snowman!  This snow is now gone and it doesn't look like we will be getting any more in the near future.  So, until next time....!

 Luckily there was enough snow on our very little hill in the backyard.  They had a blast going down the hill on their sleds.  This was the first time that they have been able to use their Christmas present from Santa!

 

 This picture shows Brady giving Tyler a little push down the hill.

 Brady had so much fun trying to build a snowman!  I am not a very good snowman builder, so I wasn't much help for the little guy. 

 

 

 

 



CONGRATS, LEE!

I think that it was about last year at this time, that I put a post on the blog to congratulate Lee on a new job position.  Well, he has now got himself another new position, which has also been a promotion!  He has really moved himself up with the company and I am so very proud of him! 
He now, for the first time in 6 years, is home with me until 7:00 a.m. on the weekdays!  This part of the job has been fantastic!  Since Tyler was born, over 4 years ago, I have always been home alone in the mornings to get the kids ready and off to daycare and myself ready for work.  Lee has always been out of the house by 6:00 a.m., if not earlier.  So, this new morning time has really been quite a treat and I have really enjoyed our new routine in the mornings!  However, he used to be home from work, on a typical day, by 4:30 p.m.  This was always wonderful, as I was able to finish dinner while he played with the boys and then we would all be able to sit down at the table and enjoy dinner and conversation together.  That 4:30 time, has unfortunately, gotten later.  We don't expect Lee home now until at least 6:00.  This means that it's just the kids and I for dinner.  I have been finding myself feeding the kids at the table and then, while I clean up the kitchen and do the dishes, I'm also eating my dinner.  I really miss our family dinner time!  The kids are always so hungry by 5:00 or 5:30 that pushing back dinner to wait for Lee isn't in our near future. 

BUT, I do know that I am very happy that he has gotten this promotion!  Lee has worked really hard to get the position.  As I am writing this, at 6:20 on a Friday night, he is not home yet.  But, when he does get home, he will have finished his first full week at his new position without his "trainer!"  Good Job, Lee! 

CONGRATULATIONS!  WE LOVE YOU!  DARCEY, TYLER, BRADY, & CALI     

SOME PICTURES WITH THE NEW CAMERA!

Lee and I chose to buy a new camera with our Christmas money.  We got a really nice one, that we are still learning how to use, but are very excited about it!  Here's some random pictures that we have taken recently that show the great quality of the camera.  We love it!

 

 This is Brady's "Roar" face.  In this picture he is saying "ROOOOAAAAR!" 

 My little cuddle bug!

 Tyler, listening to music on his headphones and making a silly face.

 Our little Cali Grace.

 

 

Brady in his carseat and ready to go to Grandma Marys.

"Peek-a-Boo!"

Tyler crawling around and also doing the "ROOOAAAR!"

 The boys making their own dinner--Pizza Turnovers.

They are such wonderful help in the kitchen!  :)

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

 

 We went to my mom's house this past weekend to celebrate her 60th and my brother's 33rd birthdays.  We had a good time celebrating, hanging out, and playing a new game that my mom had bought.

 This is a pretty blurry picture, but it shows the boys blowing out the candles for their Grandma and Uncle Josh.  I made the birthday crew an awesome cheesecake!

 Me with my little boy, Brady.

 Grandma brought a new game home called 'Climb the Mountain.'  The point of the game was to get the ball all the way to Everest by moving the silver bars back and forth and up the 'incline.'  It made for a competitive afternoon and evening!

 He looks just like his Uncle Josh!

 

 Grandma and the boys playing 'Climb the Mountain.'

That is quite the Josh Freese look.

BEDTIME CONVERSATIONS

Tyler loves to talk after we read stories at bedtime.  I usually have to cut him off and tell him that he needs to start resting.  However, these conversations at bedtime are great, smart, and one of my favorite parts of the day.  A little background for tonight's conversation.  Tyler can't stop thinking about the Monster Trucks from yesterday's event.  During the event there were two "transformer" trucks that came out and put on a little show.  One was the "good guy" and the other the "bad."  They came 'apart' like transformers do and ended up being really tall, with one looking somewhat like a person and the other like a dog.  They both talked with robot like voices, made loud noises, and shot fire.  Both Tyler and Brady thought these trucks were really cool!  So, tonight's conversation went a little like this...

Tyler: What are you going to dream about mom?  (A question we ask each other every night.)
Mom: Well, I'm pretty tired tonight, Tyler, so I probably won't dream much.
Tyler:  You have to dream, Mom.  What are you going to dream about?
Mom:  Kisses.  (Refering to a book that we read at night that tells us to dream of "kisses times ten."
Tyler: I'm going to dream about all of the Monster Trucks and the Transformer Trucks.
Mom: Those will be good dreams, Tyler.
Tyler: Mom, where do you think those Transformer Trucks are from?
Mom: I don't know, Tyler.
Tyler:  Maybe from...Mercury, or Earth, or Saturn?
Mom: Yeah, maybe!
Tyler:  Where do you think they're from, Mom?
Mom: Probably Earth.
Tyler:  I think that the red one is from Mercury, because it's hot and that one is red.....and the white one is from where it's cold.
Mom: Yep, that's probably right, Bud.  Maybe the white one is from Neptune.  That's where it's cold.
Tyler:  Neptune.

I'm sure after I left the room he continued to think of those Transformer Trucks, Monster Trucks, and will have dreams about them tonight!  He is such a smart little kid!  And I absolutely love that I get to have conversations like these with him every single night at bedtime!  I love you so much, Tyler!

Did he really just turn only 4? 

MONSTER TRUCKS!

We took the kids to Wells Fargo Arena yesterday to see the Monster Jam 2012!  We had a great time at the show!  The boys were entertained for every second that we were in the arena and Lee and I thought that it was pretty awesome as well!  This was the first that any of us had ever been to a Monster Jam so we didn't really know what to expect, but assumed the boys would think that it was pretty cool.  And we were right, the boys were amazed and loved it!  I am very thankful that we had ear plugs during this event, as it was extremely loud!  We had great seats and even had chunks of dirt thrown up at us once from a trucks tires.

After the show, we headed down to Court Ave. Brewery for some delicious pizza.  It was a great Saturday and one that the boys will be thinking and talking about for awhile! 

Tyler and Brady sitting on the stairs before the show began.

A couple of the Monster Trucks.  The orange one is El Toro Loco and the black and green is Grave Digger.  Tyler's favorite was this orange one, because it had horns.

This was Brady's favorite.  It was a Hot Wheels truck. 

Lee and Tyler.  Tyler had this grin on his face for the entire 2-hour event.  Brady, on the other hand, spent just the first couple of minutes wondering if he should cry or laugh about the loud noise and extremely large trucks.  Luckily he chose the laughter and continued to laugh every time that a monster truck flew up into the air. 

 Brady was just amazed by these trucks.

And Tyler was as happy as could be!

RECORD BREAKING WEATHER!

JANUARY 5TH, 2012

65 DEGREES!

This is one for the books.  It got up to a beautiful 65 degrees on Thursday, January 5th, 2012.  The boys were outside all afternoon at daycare and I was able to enjoy a run after work in just short sleeves and running pants.  We got home and Tyler and I spent more time outside with him riding his bike.  Brady was ready to relax inside on the couch watching TV--doing what Brady does best.

It has been a very strange January so far, with no snow and decent temperatures.  It feels like spring and is a little weird, but we'll take it.  I'm sure in a couple weeks we will have snow and will finally be able to use our sleds and make some snowmen! 

 Here's Tyler on his bike on Jan. 5th.

And another picture from January 5th, 2012.  Cali, Brady, Tyler and I all on the couch watching a show before bath time.