To the Father's in my life

My kids are so lucky to have such a fun, amazing and awesome dad. He really is Super Dad. Not only does he work so that I can stay at home with our kids but he also goes to school 12 hrs/wk to better our lives. And when he is home, he is helping me out around the house and spending time with his kids. I can't imagine how we could get through this stage of our life without such an amazing partner! If you ever doubt it, just ask Turner he says all the time how his dad is a super hero! We for sure agree.

I happen to be an extremely lucky girl. I have the best dad in the whole world. Maybe God gave him to me because I needed such a strong person or maybe God was blessing him with such a great daughter because of his righteousness... who knows? Just kidding. I know I would not be the person that I am today without his loving example. He is sensitive and kind, friendly and forgiving. My dad is always there for anyone who needs him with a smile on his face happy to serve. I love this picture of my dad because his is so sensitive to the Spirit that he is always tearing up over anything happy or sad. My parents are such an example to me and my family by serving the Lord for a year and a half in a Austria. I am thankful for their stalwart example! There have been lots of dads in my life too that have been there with loving arms and a strong hand guiding me on the path that would lead to my happiness. I am grateful for a father-in-law that is so loving and gentle with our boys and all the other fathers out there that have loved me!

Most of all I want to say Happy Father's Day to the father that loves me most of all, my Father in Heaven. I know he is there and that he loves me. He has blessed me beyond what I am worthy of. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Turner turns 4!

Turner is 4! I can't believe it. He wanted a robot cake for his birthday so the sucker I am.... I made one for him. He loved it! I think it turned out pretty good considering it is HUGE! I would for sure tweek a couple of things next time but overall I was pretty happy with it. Yeah it took Josh and his dad to carry it in :) We opened presents first and he got this basketball jersey from his grandparents and had to change RIGHT THEN! It was funny and he thought it was pretty cool that he matched his cake!

This picture gives a clue as to how big it was :) I think it was at least as big as Max!

Here he is about to open presents and pretty excited I am sure.

Max had a little bit of a hard time not being the center of attention (just wait about 8 weeks little guy!)

But he made up for it but being the normal crazy kids he usually is! They say that the middle child is the clown and although he isn't the middle child yet- it is already his personality. He is just a goof! And we love it!

I love this kids bright smile. He is so handsome and is excited to have new babies coming.

Turner loves the color blue, his family, and water. He would play in water ALL DAY LONG; if he could get away with it. We had been promising him for months that we would go to Cherry Hill and camp in the backyard for his birthday but when his birthday came it was rainy, windy, and freezing cold. So we went to the movies and to McDonalds. He is very helpful and tries to talk me into things all the time. He loves the alphabet and can name all of the letters and 90% of the sounds. He is doing great with his numbers too. He LOVES to read and everyday asks me to "have cuddle time" where we just cuddle and read books. I usually fall asleep afterwards and he doesn't. He is so over naps but I'm not- at least right now. We love having Turner in our family and he is the perfect "big brother." Turner is the prefect personality to be our first :) We love you big guy and we love you!

PARK CITY!

Memorial day weekend we went to Park City to have a fling before these babies come. We spent most of the weekend swimming and hanging out in the hotel room. We did spend some time walking main street (with lots of breaks for Mom.) They have this free trolly that we rode and the boys were in heaven! They thought it was the coolest thing ever!I did a little photo shoot with Max while Dad and Turner made a mad dash for the bathroom. (I should clarify... Josh was running Turner to the bathroom)

Hanging out in the room was for sure one of the main highlights!

I loved this wall and wish my kids were dressed cuter and in better moods but we had fun and that is what matters!

We loved hanging out with the boys even if I couldn't do much. I tried not to think of all the things we could have been doing and just enjoyed that I could swim and hang out. We for sure just love being able to spend time with Josh when he gets a moment to be with us.

Yeah- I can't do that!

When I get frustrated with my very limited ability right now I have to play the glad game and remind myself that it is only temporary. Someday I will be able to do things for myself again! While we were in Park City this weekend we saw a documentary called "paralyzed and pregnant with twins" It was about a mom who was expecting twins who was also a paraplegic. I realized that I am so blessed that my limited ability is only temporary and once my babies are delivered, as long as everything goes well, my abilities will be back! For now I am grateful that I have a husband who is willing to do almost anything for me!

But on the ability side... I can now eat off of my huge belly! At least there is a positive side right?

Turner's Preschool Graduation(s)

Here is my over the top excited preschooler in his "cap and gown" I love this smile!

The first graduation struggled a little bit. I have 5 boys that are a little shy in front of people. If I get a group like this again I will record the rehearsal and play that for the parents! They were very cute during rehearsal and I am sad that they were too shy to let their parents see.

Turner and his preschool teacher! We are very lucky that he had a preschool teacher that loved him so much :)

This is the second group and they were very great performers. This one is mostly to show off my HUGE belly :)

Here is the whole group. I will miss my kids so much! I know Turner already misses his friends.

28 Weeks!

I am 28 wks today! I can't believe it really has been passing by so quickly lately. I guess I have been really busy with preschool this last month that it has just flown by. I am wondering if time will start to drag on once preschool is over and I don't have anything to keep me busy :) Although it really is time to not be busy. I fell down the hill today in my backyard. When I told Josh he wanted me to go into the Dr. right away but I feel fine and I am afraid that they will keep me all day.

We have preschool graduation tonight and tomorrow! We had a practice for the program and I am sure it will be very um... entertaining. Oh well- they are preschoolers after all :) I will post pictures of them in their "caps and gowns" I can't wait!

Aging

I have been thinking today that I think I am getting a little glimpse into what life might be like in the twilight years. There are several things that I do on a daily or weekly basis that just get harder and harder as time goes by. I never understood why the elderly spend the end of their lives watching TV. Yet here I am with a house seemingly falling apart around me and all I can do is sit around. Every week it gets harder and harder to bathe my kids and sweep the floor. I am no longer able to go grocery shopping on my own or haul the laundry downstairs. Getting myself and my kids ready for the day is a feat in and of itself. I hate having to depend on others for everything.

I think this is typical of most women and I HATE asking. I have a hard time looking at my yard and seeing the disarray it is in. I want to put a huge sign on my door asking people to please not judge me. If I could, I would. Josh does what he can but seriously that guy leaves for work at 6:30, comes home at 5 and then leaves for school no later than 5:50 and doesn't get home until 9. We do have Sat. but considering we have to get a whole new set of stuff for these babies and we are poor- we spend a lot of time going to yard sales. I know this post sounds like I am complaining but really let me get to the point. I am lucky!

Next year I am hoping that I can have a garden again. Maybe my yard will not have as many weeds and you better believe that someday I will be able to get to the dishes in a timely manner. If things don't get done, it will be because I ran out of TIME not ability. Yet I think about those elderly people that of course this process usually happens a lot slower, they don't have the hope that someday their functioning will return. All they can do is sit and think about how freeing it will be to someday get rid of the body that slows them down.

I have dreams about things I wish I could do- the other night I worked out in my dream all night long. I enjoyed the sensation on being able to run. I enjoyed being able to breathe! The exhaustion came from sweating, not just trying to walk up the stairs. Someday I will be able to do these things again and I am so grateful for this opportunity to gain a little bit of empathy.

Out in nature

Ok so this fieldtrip was much better the first day than the second. The weather was much better and the trail we were allowed to hike was much better. It was too windy to do half the things I planned to the second day which was frustrating. Yet the kids got to run around in nature and look at things under the magnify glasses and so they had a ton of fun. One of the moms found a bird's nest with some broken shells- they thought it was wonderful. We went to the Great Salt Lake Nature Center at Farmington Bay. It was neat to see all of the birds! If you go in Jan. and Feb. you can see TONS of bald eagels- we did that a couple of years ago and loved it! Word to the wise though, if you go the the actual nature center, you might want to call ahead... they tend to like to know who is coming.

Popcorn Popping

We have had a crazy spring around here to say the least! But I sure have loved all of the blossoms on the trees! I am always a little sad when they start to fall off and make room for the green leaves. We celebrated Spring by spreading a sheet and plugging in the popcorn popper and singing Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. I kept the lid off and let the popcorn fly everywhere! You have to be careful because when the "old maids" fly out they burn- not severe enough to leave a mark but it hurts! Then we had a picnic and ate our popcorn. We drew tree trunks and glued popcorn on it for art. It was a fun day!

Volcanoes!

We did quite a few fun Earth projects during the month of April with preschool. We didn't just celebrate Earth day but we celebrated all month long! I think the volcano project was one of the kids favorite projects. It was super easy. First I made some salt dough and gave it a brown tint. I then formed it around a mason jar. I think next time I will use a smaller jar or make more salt dough to have a more cone shaped mountain. As we were making it I discussed volcanoes and how the inside of the earth isn't dirt- it is hot!

Then I filled the jar about 3/4 of the way full of vinegar that I tinted red for effect. The kids of course thought that the "lava" would come out hot! Then I poured in some baking soda....

And "lava" spewed forth. If you do this-Have tons of vinegar and baking soda- these things are really cheap and they want to do it again and again and again.

I put the volcano on a lid to a storage tub so that it could catch all of the lava- I was going to do a cookie sheet but I am glad I opted for the larger surface.