Our Valentine's Day

Valentine's day at our house is pretty low key. Matt and I hate to fight the crowds to go out to eat so it is usually spent at home ordering takeout and cuddling watching a movie with our little family. I remember growing up my parents always got us little gifts for Valentine's and I remember loving it so Matt and I have continued to do that with our girls. I was pretty excited I had put together a love day menu and some fun activities for the day but then Hallie's preschool announced they would be doing a Valentine party the day of. I was bummed but Hallie was so thrilled to get to exchange Valentines and do various activities with her friends so we made the best of it and scaled things back at home. The night before we set our the girls gifts

 Gracie got the little Sophia dolls that came with a bunch of pieces for a tea set, a balloon, and some gummy princess candy.

 Hallie got the heart balloon, some gummy candies, a book, and what they call in the dancers world "foot undies" Hallie has wanted these for months

 Hallie was super excited when she got up and found the gifts. I heard her come up the stairs and say outload what are these for....are they for me?

 I think this balloon kept her busy for longer than I had anticiapted

Then Hallie was off to preschool and Gracie and I partied at home. Once Hallie got home she had a friend over and then both girls had a nap. Once they got up it was time to get ready for our dinner company. Originally we had planned to order take out and hang at home like we usually do but then we had some friends invite us to join them at their house for a nice dinner. It ended up they had some things come up at their house and they asked if we would be willing to host and we said yes. We had another set of great friends stop by to bring the girls valentines so we invited them to join us as well. It worked out perfectly and we had one of the most fun valentines day ever. Matt and the guys grilled steaks on the grill, we also had steamed green beans, grill asparagus, twice baked potatoes, pasta and potato salad, spinach and strawberry salad, and a fruit tray...we had plenty of food for sure. Oh and I can't forget to mention we had amazing and delicious cheesecake for dessert. Here are some of the older kids who sat at their own table.

And here is the whole group minus me(I was taking the picture). After our bellies were full we started a movie for the kids and ended up watching most of it before we decided to play some games while our kids were entertained. After about an hour we decided to call it quits for the night and get our kids home to bed since it was about 9:30. I don't know that I can really put into words how much fun we all had. The kids played so well together...they shared and were kind so the parents could actually enjoy ourselves. In my experience it has been hard to find couples with kids that everyone for the most part gets along and when everyone leaves my house doesn't look like a cyclone hit it. It was a great day filled with some of the people I love most. Happy Love Day!

A Valentine Party---Cousin Style

The older all of our kids get the more fun the cousin parties become. Sunday I decided I wanted to get together with my sisters and do something for Valentines. So I checked with Nic and Kim on their schedules and started making plans. We decided we would exchange Valentines, decorate cookies, have lunch, and do a craft. We decided to do it at Nic's house since it wasn't as far for Kim to come and Nic seems to have the best kitchen space with the bar for our parties. When we got there the kids watched a movie and played while we waited for everyone to get there. These 2 girls are so cute together. Gracie is always so excited to see and hug her

 This toy is always a big hit the kids often have to be refereed as to whose turn it is but they have also become creative in making space so more than one of them can play...like I said pretty creative.

 After we attempted to feed the kids lunch...which was a waste of time since all they wanted to do was play. We got to our cookie decorating. We had pink, orange, and blue frosting. Pink and red sprinkles. Cherry and cinnamon hearts. The kids each decorated 1 cookie and then proceeded to eat it. Hallie on the other hand spent about 2 hours decorating numerous cookies. She had a great time and every time we asked if she wanted to go play she said no I love to decorate cookies.

 Luke in his body armor of a bib to keep this little mess maker clean for cookie decorating

 After cookies we moved on to crafts. Kimber had put together a cute craft that was a Valentine Boy/Girl. The kids had a good time gluing and folding the paper to build them

 Here is Kim's model so the kid had an idea of what he should look like

 Working on her Valentine Girl

 The finished product

 They are very versatile and can also be worn as a hat

 Thanks to Hallie we got our "mommy picture" Oh what a great time we had with theses great ladies

Happy Valentine's we were happy to celebrate with the ones we love

The Randomness of Life

Saturday while Matt was at the testing center the girls and I headed out to do some shopping. I always shop for the girls a season in advance when most of it goes on sale or clearance so we were on a mission to find wardrobes for Fall 2014. We made great progress and just have a few odds and ends to pick up to complete outfits. One thing that I always laugh at when out shopping is the kids fascination with the manikins. I couldn't resist asking them to take a picture with their new manikin friends. 

 Another silly kid moment. The other morning while watching a show Gracie dumped out the polly pocket tupperware and made herself comfy. While Hallie moved her chair to higher ground in another chair. They were so mesmerized by the show they sat this way for probably 30 minutes. 

Sometimes the random moments in life are the moments that remind me how blessed I am to be living this crazy fun life.

Sometimes you just have to get out

This semester has been hard for our family. Matt is busier than he ever has been and in turn that means when he is home he isn't really home he is always having to read, work on projects, or other school stuff. He really is doing the best he can but there is still only a certain hours in a day. Friday morning while the girls and I were getting ready Halli accidentally kicked me in the eye. I was upset and was short with Hallie and told her to hold still. She started to cry, I was crying, and at that moment Gracie ran into something and started to cry as well. I called Matt needing to vent momentarily he suggested taking in easy and having a movie and pj day. After I got off the phone with him I realized that by doing that it wouldn't really help us so I called Nic to ask about the mommy and me class she had taken Riggs to at Get Air. After I got the info from her I decided we were going. I quickly finished getting the girls ready and headed to Kaysville. Rigs and Kinley were both sick so Nic was going to take them to the dr and meet up with us after. The mommy and me class is basically they don't allow kids over 5 years and they do a set price(a mom and child is $8 and for each additional child is $2). The girls were both so excited and quickly got their stuff put in the cubby and off they went. We had a blast!!! The day quickly turned around. We were laughing and having a great time together. It was just the outlet we needed. Hallie's favorite was the slide into the foam pit. such a little girl in a big pit.

 Gracie's favorite was the floor full of tramps she ran from one to the next.

 They played the full 2 hours with a few rests and drink breaks

 Once we left the park we headed to Nic's house. We all ate lunch and played/visited for about an hour before heading home for a much needed nap time. The girls both slept for 2 hours after that Gracie came out and was still tired so we snuggled up and both fell asleep until I woke up to Hallie taking pictures of us sleeping....silly girl. 

It was a great kind of day and reminded me that no matter how poorly my day starts I always have the choice to make it better. We all had a really great time and one of those activities I felt like we all equally enjoyed ourselves and the time we spent together.

A Little Love Day Package

 Ever since my parents moved to Las Vegas my mom does a great job at being involved in the girls lives in several different ways. Valentines packages is just one of the many but that doesn't make it any less exciting when it arrives in the mail. The girls were so excited they would hardly wait to open it. Im surprised I actually got some good pictures.

 Underneath all that brown paper was a beautiful wrapped box...oh what could it be???

 And the best part is my mom sends stuff for all of us not just the girls. The girls each got a light up heart necklace and some treats. Matt and I got some yummy valentine treats as well.

 This is Gracie latest when you say, "look at me with your eyes."

 Or then there is the super excited...getting closer

 Now this may be something we can work with. They love their new necklaces and wear them just about everywhere they go. They didn't mind the candy either.

 It hard to put into words what it means to me when someone takes the time to do something special for me and my family. I guess that could be described as what you do when you love and care for someone. Thanks mom for adding some extra "love" to our day

Daddy turns 30...we need more hours in a day

So as I have mentioned before Matt's schedule is crazy to put it nicely. I really don't know he keeps up with all of it and stay sane. Knowing his birthday was midweek I knew a celebration wasn't going to happen so we decided to celebrate on Super Bowl Sunday. Gracie helped me make a cheesecake and was even willing to taste test it for me...although I didn't have to beg.. 

 We invited some family but they were unable to come so we invited some of our new friends Chris and Katie Johnson. We had a great time eating and getting to know them. The game wasn't anything to get excited about since it was a complete blowout so it was a good thing we had food and friends to enjoy.

 On Matt's actual birthday (a Thursday) I wanted to do something fun since he will be the big 3-0 but sadly he has a big test in his class so after working all day he will spend his birthday at class. We tried to make the best of it. The girls and I surprised Matt at work with balloons, presents, and some mini cheesecakes to share with his coworkers. And then he made some time to go to lunch with us. He picked Iggys. We had a fun time just being together.

 After lunch we walked back to the car. I love that he tries to make the most of his time with all of us. He never ceases to amaze me.

Once we got back to the car we gave him the rest of his presents curbside(tacky yes but it was either that or once he got home and the girls were in bed)

 He got a new hat he has been wanting and a few other little things. 

Oh how I love this guy of mine. I feel extremely blessed to have him in my and our girls lives. He does so much for us and deserves the world. Love you babes...happy birthday!

Cousins makes the best friends

I love to watch the kids play with their cousins. I have a lot of fun memories of playing with my cousins and growing up together. It has always been something I wanted for my kids as well and it just so works out that my sisters are great in all of us getting together. Saturday Nic's friend (Laura T.) got married in the Brigham temple and we got to watch the kids. The girls and I went to the store to get some fun snacks/treats for our fun day. They had this M&M man set up as a display and the girls were fascinated by.

 Nic and Kyle dropped the kids off about 11 am and it didn't take long for us to find something else fun to occupy our time. Matt had a lot of homework he needed to get done so I did my best to keep the kids downstairs and for the most part quiet. They were great! We build a huge blanket fort. I remember growing up my mom had quite a few encyclopedias and we would use those to hold the blankets but we don't have that many big books and is seemed really dangerous to put heavy books on top of blankets that could be pulled down on top of the kids so we used daddy's clamps and clips out of the garage to hold it all together. They were pretty pleased with the end results

 Gracie is obsessed with Kinley she always wants to be where she is and loves to give her hugs and kisses. This day was no different she kept bringing her babies and these two played so well together

Then on Wed Nic called to let me know she was coming to Ogden to get a few things and wanted to get together. The girls and I were thrilled to have visitors. After we did some grocery shopping and Nic finished her errands we met up at Maceys for some lunch. The kids were so funny and pretty much entertained themselves while Nic and I talked. Hallie and Rigs got very inventive with their tater babies and turned them into fire rods that they were sword fighting with. Needless to saw Nic and I ate more than the kids. 

 Love Rigs face he was very into the "fire sticks"

After lunch we all came back to our house and had cookies and we just let the kids play while Nic and I once again enjoyed some adult time. I think I love cousin time just as much as the kids. They all play so well together and I get some adult conversation with some of my favorite people.