Cousins Come to Stay

Awhile back Nic asked if I would watch the kids while her and Kyle went to Mexico on vacation. And this week the time has come. I have been really nervous about how I would balance 4 kids under 5 and still accomplish everything I like to accomplish in a normal day. After thinking about this for the last couple months I realized there was no way to do that and to stay happy and sane. I find myself often thinking about the quote Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling! It is not something to do if you have time it is what God gave you time for!!!! I think of this regularly my kids will only be little once and I never want to wish that away! There would be twice as many kids that needed attention and love. So the solution was to prepare myself, the house, and my family so we could all just make the most of our time all together and so far it is working beautifully. After we picked them up we grabbed lunch and came home for naps. Rigs doesn't nap anymore which makes things a little tricky but I figured we would work it out. Grace and Kinley went down about 1 and Hallie and Rigs played quietly downstairs while the girls napped. Shortly after getting them to sleep Hallie and Rigs came up dressed like this. Im sure Kyle will never forgive me but it was to darn cute not to take a picture. They were so excited that they were dressed like twins.

 After everyone was awake, a couple hours later, we headed outside. Now that Kinley is older it seems like Grace and her split off and do their thing and Hallie and Rigs do theirs although they still at times play all together. They spent a couple hours playing between the swings, sandbox, and trampoline while I did some yard work.

 This is a daily occurrence at our house...the raspberry picking

 Then we had dinner, bathed, and the kids watched a show while I got in the shower. The day went amazingly well. I was pretty surprised and pleased. Hoping today goes just as well. I went to bed last night with my heart feeling full knowing that my house was full of special little spirits quietly sleeping. But Im looking forward to tonight when Matt is home for me to snuggle once they are all asleep.

Wed was just another day of fun playing with the cousins. I was grateful it wasn't my day to drive the car pool so I didn't have to worry about hauling all the kids to pick up Hallie. The kids did pretty good keeping themselves entertained. 

 Blurry but still a cute picture that captures the love these kids have for each other.

 I bought a hammock at the beginning of summer and we have used it quite a bit. The kids used it daily and even fell out of it a couple times. 

Notice Rig's boots in this picture. He was in love with them and worn them almost all day everyday although I never let him wear them out of the house since they were pink.

Meal times, bed time, and bath time were all crazy but we made it all work and it ended up being easier than I had anticipated. Tuesday when I picked the kids up from Jill I started to feel sick. On the way down to get them I prayed with heavenly father that he would help me get through the week with all the kids knowing that Matt would be out of town. I was encouraged as the week went on and I felt more like myself. I am grateful that I was able to take care of the kids and myself with the power of a loving father in heaven that heard my cry for help and aided me through the week.

Life as of Lately

I feel like I haven't blogged in quite a while but I don't have much to blog about. Life is busy but not much fun is going on. I feel like most of the time I am left as a single mom. Matt seriously is working so hard for us!  Right now he is working his "normal" 9-5 job then Mon, Wed, and Thurs he heads to Weber to teach 2 nights and attend class the other. On top of that he has been traveling a lot and when I say a lot I mean like every other week. Then on the weekends he coaches Hallie's soccer team. To say I'm proud of him is an understatement but Im so ready for May to come when he will graduate and we can establish a new normal! Then we will have all summer with no teaching or school...I can hardly wait. I keep telling Matt that my life would temporarily be a lot easier if I didn't love him so darn much. I miss him a lot! I miss his support to me emotionally mostly. I miss watching him interact with the girls and the way he makes them and me laugh but Im seeing the light at the end of the tunnel come graduation and the end of the semester in May! I think I can I think I can. Then we are hoping that it feels right to sell our house and build like we have wanted to for a very long time.
Hallie is loving kindergarten and is excelling. She is at the top of her class and has picked up on reading so quickly I can hardly believe how quickly she is learning. She is extremely observant and completely my big helper. About a week into the school year we ran into her teacher, Ms. Hansen, at Target she was with her husband. Hallie asked why she was called Ms. Hansen if she was married. I don't know many 4 year olds that would pick up on something like that. She is loving soccer and Matt is loving that she loves soccer...lol. Her favorite food is Nachos. Favorite color is rainbow or "Elsa" blue depending on the day. She is still a tiny petite thing. She wears a size 4-5 pants/ shirts mostly for the length. She still naps most days but some days says she isn't tired and will just read, quietly play, or watch a show while Gracie sleeps. She also sleeps 12 hours at night! My life wouldn't run nearly as smooth without her she really is my right hand girl.
Gracie is growing more quickly than I would like. Her vocabulary is amazing and says pretty much anything and everything. She loves to learn and likes to do her alphabet flashcards on a regular basis. I can regularly find her in her room "reading" to herself. She can count to 15 and likes to think she can sound out words like her sister. She is a very happy and silly kids...brightens my day everyday. She has a sense of humor much like Matt and I love it. She naps 1x a day for usually 2-3 hours and also sleeps 12 hours at night! She loves her big girl bed and we are just getting ready to move her downstairs with Hallie so we can give Nic back her twin bed. She is usually a great eater. She still pulls labels off of water bottles and likes to pull her hair elastics out while she is napping. I just love her fun and spunky self.
As for me I feel like Im constantly trying to organize or rearrange this house to have more storage space at the moment. Now that the bathrooms are updated we are planning on building a closet or some more shelves so we can organize things a little better. I love being home with the kids though at times it is hard. I feel like it is my calling in life, what I have always been meant to do. Although occasionally getting out to go to work is nice once in awhile. I spend most of my time just enjoying the kids. I love to watch them play, learn, and explore. Although life is hard at times and I may not make the time to blog or take pictures about everyday stuff. I love my life even through the rough days. I feel so blessed to have the life I do and the people I have in it.

The Proposal

Saturday after soccer we rushed home to get naps in before heading o Salt Lake for the proposal. Matt had been out of town but luckily got an earlier flight so we grabbed dinner and headed to meet everyone. Chris has been working on proposal idea and settled on a flash mob idea. We danced to Bruno Mars "I think I wanna marry you". They were planning on meeting up with Chris's friends for a "group date" and then the dancing started. It wasn't until her sisters started dancing that I think she realized what was going on.

 Gradually we all added and finally Chris joined in! 

 After some dancing Chris went and got on one knee and asked the big question and she said yes! 

It was a great night and it all worked out really well. Im excited for them and their future,Its odd to think that this will be the last Brower wedding for a very long time....the family is complete in a way. Congrats guys!!

Soccer Season is Here

 Soccer season started last week Hallie has been so excited. I was bummed when we found out Matt would be out of town and I would be coaching but he wil be there the rest of the season...hopefully. A couple days before the game I heard her in the backyard her and Grace had set up the cones and Hallie had the whistle. Hallie would blow the whistle and Gracie would kick the ball in and out of the cones and then they would switch it was so cute. I think Matt may be in luck he has some soccer players on his hands!

The day of the game I forgot to take my phone so no pics this week. But Hallie played great. You can definitely tell she in in her 2nd season but I really think with some practice the team will be great. I was so thrilled and relieved when Joy showed up to watch so that Grace could stay with her. Im excited about this season to watch the girls learn and grow

Long Lost Cousin's Day to the Zoo

The past couple of weeks Nic and the kids have been staying with my parents in Vegas. We have missed seeing them so as soon as they got back we knew we wanted to plan something and the kids all wanted to go to the zoo. This time of year is one of my favorite times it is usually cooler and less crowded which makes it much more enjoyable.

Most of the animals were still sleeping but not these monkeys they were swinging everywhere the kids were facinated

 We talked the kids out of wanting to play in the splash pad and convinced them to just try the slide a handful of times

 They were flying out of the nest before I could get a picture of all of them

 The seals were so fun 2 playing on the landing above and the other 2 playing right against the glass for the kids to see

 The cheeta is laying on the metal roof if you look closely you can see

 We usually hit up the carousel before we head for home

Love these little girls of mine and all the adventures we have

 

 The lion water fountain is back. Hallie was to nervous to try it out but Grace couldn't get enough 

 On the train We split the kids up and then Hallie and Rigs had to sit together so Gracie and I enjoyed our ride just the 2 of us

 Here is the rest of the group. Before we headed home we rode the train which has been out of commission with the Savannah expansion for a couple years so this was our 1st time riding it. The kids loved it.

Then it was time to head for home. We were headed home to bottle some peaches. It was a great day and so fun to see Nic and the kids. I seriously miss my sisters frequently and love all the time I spend with them.

St George Day 4

Monday morning we enjoyed our last breakfast watching the birds in the perfect weather outside. bittersweet moment realizing our weekend together is almost over

Then we finally got our chance to go in the temple. The grounds were so peaceful especially since the temple was closed for cleaning. These girls were so excited to get to the temple

 Although slightly confused and disappointed as to why they couldn't go in right this minute

 Since we couldn't go in we settled for exploring the temple grounds. I showed the girls the door Kim and Ez came out of when they got married. The girls thought that was SO cool!

 The fountain was a highlight for sure

 Our attempt at a family picture 

 Then we loaded up and headed towards Kanarraville Falls. I think I was probably the most excited but everyone couldn't wait to see the waterfall. Although we haven't been big hikers in the pasted we want our kids to have the opportunity to try a variety of things even if it isn't something Matt or I love. In my opinion being a great parents means exposing your kids to a variety of wholesome activities and giving them the opportunity to see what they like. We are ready to go! 

 Just shy of the 1st mile was all dirt and pretty hot and boring. We were all ready to get to the water

 And then we found it! The girls were so excited they ran down the hill to get to it. The water was cool but a perfect compliment to the hot weather

 We took every opportunity we could to hike through the water. The kids would run and splash then laugh and giggle it made it all worth it

 I guess Gracie was bored of pictures already by this point but the area was beautiful

 The further in we hike not only was there more water for us to hike in but the scenery got more and more beautiful

 Getting to the slot canyons...I can't even describe the beauty of it all

 Matt and I(photo credit to ms Hallie)

 When it came time to climb the ladder to the 2nd waterfall this little miss got a little nervous 

 Trying to smile through the nerves in front of the waterfall

 The line was pretty long both going up and coming down. 

By this point we were completely in the shade and the water had gotten cooler the higher we got so Hallie's feet were cold and we decided to head back but not before we got some amazing pictures.

 On our way down there was a group of cheerleaders doing stunts in the slot canyons it looked pretty cool

 In total it took us just over 2 hours with I thought was pretty good for almost 4 miles. We got back to the car and everyone's clothes and shoes changed before heading to Cedar City to grab lunch and head for home. We decided on Taco Bell. When we were looking at our sauces we found this one and thought of Chris and Krissy. I think this question may be part of there very near future.

What a great weekend full of various activities and most importantly we were together making memories all weekend! I love weekends where we can be together without normal interruptions. Now I just have to wait til we can get away again. I love my little family