I'm totally behind in life in general...and especially when it comes to blogging. Considering the fact Alayna has been in ballet for three months and I haven't even posted a picture yet. I think between, school, homework, church callings, volunteering in the school, preschools, laundry, blah, blah, blah...blogging hasn't made it on my list yet. But tonight I had a long day and so I'm going to choose to sit instead of mop my kitchen floors and finish my dishes. Oh, it feels good to put responsibility off for a few hours. (yeah)
This month I'm glad to say is over...with the grey clouds and sickness I think I was about ready to put a for sale sign up in the yard and pack our bags and head for California...or really Hawaii. Pretty much anywhere the SUN was I wanted to be. To show you how desperate I was for sun, I caught a peak of direct sunlight coming through my bathroom window. I pulled up the blinds, sat on the edge of my tub and read a book until I felt the sun warmth on my face..(You know that awesome feeling when your laying on the beach of Hawaii basking in the sun...yes it's that great).Oh, it was a highlight for me this long winter. It's amazing what a little natural vitamin D does for you! (Don't worry I take the vitamin to help out with the drag in the winter!) But with all the doom and gloom I've been able to recover. Let me do a quick re-cap but in no particular order. Pretty much it was doom and gloom until my blessed birthday January 24th!
This month I'm glad to say is over...with the grey clouds and sickness I think I was about ready to put a for sale sign up in the yard and pack our bags and head for California...or really Hawaii. Pretty much anywhere the SUN was I wanted to be. To show you how desperate I was for sun, I caught a peak of direct sunlight coming through my bathroom window. I pulled up the blinds, sat on the edge of my tub and read a book until I felt the sun warmth on my face..(You know that awesome feeling when your laying on the beach of Hawaii basking in the sun...yes it's that great).Oh, it was a highlight for me this long winter. It's amazing what a little natural vitamin D does for you! (Don't worry I take the vitamin to help out with the drag in the winter!) But with all the doom and gloom I've been able to recover. Let me do a quick re-cap but in no particular order. Pretty much it was doom and gloom until my blessed birthday January 24th!
Ben is in LOVE with toothbrushes. Let's just say he would have one at all times glued to his hand if he could. Classic Ben is to have one in his mouth and one in each hand.
See...he always has one. Thanks to Grandma Suker for providing us with a huge bag of new toothbrushes. The kids tossed them all over the house and said we were having a "toothbrush party for Ben!" I think we just figured out his next birthday cake.
This is an activity that you would find my boys doing each morning. Caleb and Ben having Jake work hard to push them around. I'm not sure if you can see but Ben is holding another toothbrush.
A HIGHLIGHT of the month. My sweet friends put together a birthday lunch for me. It was delicious and even better time spent together. I've been overly blessed with dear friends and for that I am forever grateful.
Okay, Here is to the best, most personalized gift I have ever been given. It was so perfect for me it brought instant tears to my eyes. This picture doesn't show how darling it is, but it's that cute bracelet next to my watch. Sweet Emily had it engraved with my personal life motto that I happened to share with her many talks ago. (My life motto will have to be dedicated to an entirely different post) How tender is that gift. So personal and so perfect. Oh, just thinking of it makes me smile with tears. I LOVE IT!
We took the kids to the new Texas Roadhouse that opened...Jared got stuck at work longer than expected and so I played the single mom card with four kids for about an hour! I thought I was doing a good job until I realized Caleb had bubbled all his chocolate milk all over the table! AHHH I had just told him to put the lid back on before I decided to take a picture. Either way it was an awesome memory. Our server was standing there chatting with me and he was busting up laughing at how hilarious my kids were.
Another night in January (yes I'm wearing the same outfit) we went out as family to Famous Daves to celebrate the January/February birthdays. I'm glad Grandma Lucy decided to come along for the ride! Yum.
The MOST adventurous activity so far this month was snowmobiling at Daniels Summit with RPT (Jared's work). They had a director retreat the other weekend and it was AWESOME. That is me hidden under the "scary" mask...I didn't want to take it off because then I would have been exposed to cold air. And I would never wanted to feel cold.
We each had our sweet snowmobiles and had a great time. Jared was in HEAVEN and I was some where in between heaven and the other place...until I received a few tips to make it more enjoyable. And once I felt more comfortable I could have stayed all day long! It will be a tradition for sure. We loved it. Oh, I need to find the picture on my other camera where Jared rode his snowmobile in to a creek...yeah a small river! Seriously, only Jared would have that kind of luck. THANKFULLY he made it out too easy before I could even snap a picture. I was so shocked and too busy yelling and thinking, "You've got to be kidding me!"
This mess equals 5 days I spent watching 5 kids. This happened on day one. I left it alone until day 5, then I made the kids pick it up. Shan and Todd ran off to California for a few days. So I took care of the kids.I had a total of 9 kids...wow. Seriously mothers of that many children are saints. It was NOT as crazy as this mess appears. Four of them attended school all day long, then two went to kindergarten then the other three napped during the afternoon. So I did get quiet time each day. But let me tell you, trying to balance 9 kids, a van that seats 8, ballet, after school snacks, dinner prep, etc. It was a tad intense at night. But we had a great time and the kids had no idea I had no idea what I was doing!!! The funny part was Shan and Todd returned home on Friday at 2pm. And Jared and I left at 2pm for our snowmobiling trip. So we just exchanged kids and off we went. OH, maybe that is what made our little get away even more enjoyable! :)
Celebrating my birthday with the one and only...German chocolate cake...Or maybe I should say, the two loves of my life. Jared and German Chocolate cake!
A three generational picture.
Welcome to my life. I look tired in this picture. Is it because I have four rowdy kids? Is it because it was Sunday night? And Sunday's are just a circus act for me? Hmmm. Or maybe that is what the age 31 now feels like. Tiring...Not sure, but man alive I sure love these four monkies...
Another birthday lunch with Grandma Lucy, my dad, and Aunt Kath. Go Coronado's Subs. YUM.
The weekend of my birthday. Jared surprised me with a getaway to a hotel. A late night movie and dinner. It was so much fun. I spent an entire Saturday shopping. Seriously, we got so many lame errands done. It was a great ending to a fun week in January! People seem to ask me why I love my birthday so much. It's pretty much because I am spoiled from head to toe from Jared, sisters, family, friends, etc. Here's to the person who thinks "January 24th is the most depressing day of the year!" I think the entire month is depressing up until the 24th and THEN it gets really fun!! Thank you to one and all who made my birthday extra special. (Friends who dropped gifts off, cards sent, emails, phone calls, texts, lunches, etc. It was wonderful. Thank you!)
