RJ and Courtlyn

Life with a 2 year old and a 3 year old is like riding a roller coaster for me. Sometimes you are up, and some times down! Sometimes you are riding to the top, hearing the click, click, click, waiting for the inevitable. It seems peaceful enough at the moment, but you know that it wont last. It can make you have a fierce headache, and a pit in your stomach at any given moment...usually through the whole ride if you are me! But, at the end of the ride, you are glad you did it, and can say that you might even be willing to do it again. (Though not immediately, sometimes you have to walk it off and forget how bad you felt a while ago!) That is everyday with these two! They are at a very challenging age right now. Courtlyn has finally turned on me, in a big way I might add. We get some crazy tantrums, frequently I might add, and RJ has no mercy! RJ is trying to be independant and assert his opinions, but he is much better at the assertive part than the reason part. However, sometimes we have moments that make it all worth it! Courtlyn CANT leave Mallory's toys alone! And the jumper being out was more than she could handle. She thinks it is hers, but clearly struggles to get in in properly! Cant you just see the plea for help in her eyes. I assisted her, after I grabbed the camera and laughed at her first! One day we decided to hit the park..it was a bit windy, but we made it. They had a great time chasing each other all through the trees. Those are the moments that I am glad they have each other. When they are cute, they are CUTE! Someday, they will be all grown up, and I hope they will be close. But I know that I will look back at these pictures, and wish they were that little again. Despite the fits, and all that comes with a 2 and a 3 year old, they are so much fun!

A Halloween preview

We went to our ward Trunk or Treat tonight, and had a great time. It was a relatively simple affair, and due to the rain, we actually had to do it inside! But, the kids were super cute in their costumes, and were thrilled to have buckets full of candy..so it was a great night! They are all so cute in their costumes this year. And, aren't you all proud of me..I did not make them wear matching or coordinating costumes this year. Grace and Courltyn even wore borrowed or hand me down costumes. Stop laughing..this really is impressive for me! And, they are just as happy..and really, quite adorable. So..enjoy the preview..I gotta go do laundry:)

This is dedicated to Lori..our great music leader!

Lets see if this works! These two are quite funny together, and one of the best things they do is sing songs for us that they learn in nursery. I think we may have the very best music leader in the whole church, right here in our ward! She has helped my big kids learn their primary songs, and my little ones have a great time in nursery and learn there too. Love our Lori for sure!! Now, I do recognize that this song is not a spiritual song, but its so cute, I had to share. Pay close attention to Courtlyn's face during the "earth shakes"! FUNNY STUFF! Oh..and dont mind my cell phone ringing in the background, its just my mom calling:) Enjoy

Dog Gone Fun Festival

This was our first school function at our new school, Olive Stephens Elementary. While we are not actually supposed to attend this school, we asked for a transfer and I could not be happier! I am thrilled with the school staff, the parent involvement, and the great kids we have there. This past Friday night, we attended our little festival, and had a good time. The girls met up with friends, we adults mingled a good bit too, and even won the bid on a basket full of books, coloring materials, and gift cards to Barnes-n-Noble. One highlight for Haylee is that she got to help paint the kids hair at one of the booths. RJ thought that was so cool. The weather was perfect, the kids had a great time, and we raised thousands of dollars for the school. I would much rather do this than those stupid cookie and wrapping paper fundraisers any day!! Courltlyn and RJ were enthralled with all of the play grounds we have at the school. There are several to choose from..my favorite being the one that is completely gated in for the pre-k class:) You know I like that kind of security! After this, I am now looking forward to the Spring sock hop..which I am in charge of..haha! Wish me luck, at least I can see that there are lots of families who will be participating and helping out! All I can say is "Go Bulldogs!"

Getting ready for church!

Getting ready for church this morning just wore poor Mallory out! Haylee was holding her, and decided to set her down for a minute. This is how we found her when I walked in..sitting straight up and totally asleep! She was so yummy! Those cheeks just hanging down..seriously, she is getting so big. Speaking of getting big, look at that beauty that is my oldest daughter. She looked so grown up to me this morning, I had to grab a few of her too. If you are either my mom, or myself, one thing you notice (only because we are particularly sensitive to it) is that her left eye still looks a bit off! I am not happy to be seeing that. I think I notice it sometimes, but pictures really are the best way to tell. She has had one surgery, and it looks like #2 is gonna have to happen! While I realize that most of you dont notice, and that in general it is just "cosmetic" but it has bothered me all of my life..specifically when I see a picture of myself! So, if I can get it fixed, I am going to do that. Fortunately, her gorgeousness outweighs that one small misalignment for sure!! She has just gotten so old to me. She is a great big sister, ADORED by all of her teachers at school, and praised every where we are for her kind spirit and helpful attitude. While she has her struggles, she is a great first child, and example to the rest of this crew. She gives me faith that I might be able to do this whole parenting thing..after all..she is turning out quite remarkably! From my youngest to my oldest, I have surely been blessed!

Crazy times!

Ok, so I realize that I have been a negligent blogger to say the least! It is sort of hard, because really I feel like not much is going on that is picture worthy! But then again, I realize, that the everyday things the kids do is interesting to the family that does not live close..so I will try to do better. Here are a few random ones as of late. Miss Courtlyn has taken turning 2 quite seriously! She is funny, and spirited, and charming..all rolled into one little person. The pudding picture is just one example of my struggle. Clearly, she should not be doing what she is..but seriously, those eyes looking up at you like that..how can you get mad at those little eyes!! RJ is much the same way! He continues to be a bit of a struggle for me to parent..I just dont know what to do with him sometimes. But, again, that is the face I see..even after he has smacked Courtlyn for the twentieth time in as many minutes!! What do I do..they are just so darling. And, then there is Miss Mallory, who has gotten so sweet and fun these days. She smiles and laughs a lot, and is so even tempered..well 98% of the time! She kinda makes up for the craziness of the other 4. Get a look at those eye lashes..seriously, not fair! She is so big, and so happy, just like the rest of my crew! It is just what we do around here I guess. I just want to keep her little forever! There you have it..not a great post, but at least a few pictures to keep you entertained for a little bit.

Just what the doctor ordered!!

I realize there have been no pictures...there is NOTHING going on to take a picture of. I do need to get some cute ones of Mallory, I know this, but my camera is acting stupid! I am working on it:)
I just had to say that I had the best day yesterday and I thought you should know about it. We started off with a visit with a friend. RJ got to play with his buddy Ammon at the park, while Melissa and I sat and talked. The weather was great..a few more bugs than I like, but we were by the lake..what can you do! Then we headed off to meet Heather for an impromptu lunch at our favorite place...McDonalds of course:) But, the kids played and we talked..it was nice. I came home and readied myself to see an old friend. I found her on facebook, of course, and when I realized she was still in Arlington, I just knew we had to meet up. We were the best of friends in middle school and early high school, but then several moves separated us. It was a BLAST!! It was as if we had just seen each other yesterday. Catching up was easy and fun..no awkwardness at all! We did not do anything special, walked around a few stores, at dinner, walked around the mall..had a bit of dessert, just simple but great. We talked for hours, and could have kept going for sure. I am thrilled to have Natalie back in my life, and know that we will be seeing more of each other...cant wait!!
On another note, as if I dont have enough going on..I have decided to become a Heritage Makers consultant:) I have been wanting to make these digital "scrapbook" storybooks for my kids for quite sometime, so when the opportunity presented itself to make them, and help others create their own..and make a little money in the process, I just had to jump on it. I am excited to have something that is my own, that takes me out of the mommy role for just a second, and challenges me to be creative and get out and meet more women. It will all be about balance for sure, but I will leave you with my personal insight gained yesterday..while I was in the shower no less..its my only quiet time, what can I say!? After a thoughtful conversation with my sister, I was left to contemplate a few things, and I realized what I already knew..I am expecting too much from myself. PERIOD! I get frustrated when I dont do everything that I KNOW I should be..I feel guilty for feeding the kids chicken nuggets, because I KNOW that they are not good for them. Here is the revelation part...during that thought process I heard, quite clearly I might say, these words come to my mind that changed my perspective! "I expect you to do what you CAN, not what you KNOW..if you did what you know, you would be perfect." That is the problem, we all know what we should be doing, but if we were able to always do it, we would be perfect, because for most of us, that is what we KNOW. We know what foods are healthy, and which are not. We know that we should be doing missionary work, and church callings, and not watching certain tv shows.the list goes on and on. We all have the knowledge, the struggle is having the ability to put that knowledge into every day life...most of us could certainly tell someone else all of the right answers to any concern or problem..its the application part we struggle with! So, I go forward with a bit of a changed perspective. I still need to improve, to do better each day than I did the day before. To set goals, and overcome the weaknesses that I have, but I think I will allow myself to slow down some, and just do what I can. Yeah..I realize that many of you already knew that...sometimes I just take a bit longer. What can I say?? Well, I am off to do laundry..haha. I guess it is finally time to get it off of my table..only to put it back on the next day, but for today, it will be clean!