Well, it has been too long since I last posted on here. A lot has happened since then. In June, we found out that we are having another baby! Found out that it is another BOY, wahoo! Matt was really wanting a girl and had his heart set on it, but my heart knew that we wouldn't have one. It just wouldn't make sense for us to have a girl in this family, haha. 
   On another note, Keagon turned two years old! He has officially hit the dreaded "terrible twos" this past week. He has slapped me in the face, kicked me in my pregnant belly, throws tantrums that he didn't quite throw before, and has quit listening to me! It is getting frustrating, because he normally will listen to what I say and not disobey. He's still my little "Tenderheart" though, for sure!
   Matt went to work in Iowa on some wind turbines mid-July and ended up going straight to work in Texas in September and finally got home a little over two weeks ago. Then he got a phone call to head to a job in Arizona this past week to start Friday. So we got to have him with us for 2 weeks and off he went again! It is very hard but this time he is only 5 short hours away. :0) The bonus this time is that he supposedly gets 4 days off for Thanksgiving and should be done with the job December 22nd! We are crossing our fingers. Things change so quickly with these types of jobs, you can have set plans one day and then they will change the very next day, it is a crazy lifestyle to live, but we chose it for the time-being. 
   Halloween was of course a blast for us! That was the last day Matt was home with us so he helped take the boys trick-or-treating around the neighborhood after I took the boys to the trunk-or-treat at the church. Matt had been changing the oil in our expedition right before we went out so he didn't have a shirt on and neither of us thought about it...or even realized it....until a guy at one of the houses asked if he was a chippendale! LOL! Oooops!!! All we could do was laugh and explain the situation, haha. He does pretty much everything without a shirt on so it was nothing new to us.
   Since Matt has been gone for work so much, I have the BEST friend around to help keep me sane. Amy Holly is such a sweet lady with five daughters of her own to have to take care of and worry about, yet her and her husband always make sure that I am taken care of. She watches the boys for me if I need to go get groceries without fussing or have a Dr.'s appointment. THEN, her 12-year-old daughter watches the boys once a month so we both can go get pedicures together. Such a sweet and selfless family, seriously! Oh, AND, they are a huge help to me during Sacrament at church, because my boys listen to them more than they listen to me. Both of the boys just love that family so much and they have a best friend in little Miss Lexi, the youngest girl, it is too cute!
   So cheers to an end to this post, finally! Hope I didn't bore you all out of your minds. I will try to keep up on this better from now on.  :0)  Happy November, don't forget to be thankful for all you have!

Love,
The Hughes Family
 

Boys will be boys!

Well, Matt is still gone working and I can say that things are extremely hard, but nobody wants to hear that, so things are going great, haha! In all honesty, the good definitely outweighs the bad. We do really miss Matt though, I will say that! 

I have to say that the absolute worst day since Matt left to work was today! The boys have little colds so we skipped out on church. I thought it would be a relaxing day full of lazying around....forget that idea! The boys fought ALL DAY LOOOONG! Justus flooded my bathroom (Meka probably heard me yelling nextdoor, sorry Meka!)(when I say flooded....it really was an inch deep through my bathroom!), and when he woke up from his nap, he had poop in his diaper so he decided to take matters into his own hands....literally! He dug out all the poop from his diaper. Can I just say that these boys do the craziest things? I think that is fair to say.

Anyhow, last week I got to spend time with my sister while she came out with her fiance for work and to catch a few MWC basketball games. They spoiled me for my birthday and bought me some new workout shoes! I LOVE them! Thank you so much, Jordan & Eric!

Also, I am trying to be "crafty" and make some "busy bag" activities to exchange with other ladies in my Ward. This was Meka's idea and we have 12 people in on it, so we all have to make 12 of the same activity to give to everybody else. In order to do mine, I NEED my sewing machine to work properly. It is hopeless right now! So I get to borrow Meka's sewing machine the next few days, thanks Meka!!! (I am doing I-Spy bags) They are going to be super cute, I found the idea on pinterest, of course.

Yesterday was supposed to be the big event in Moapa for yard sales galore! Well, I think everybody picked up early because of the wind, I'm not sure though. By the time my Mom & I went out, we found 2 yard sales, lol! I did score some classic VHS movies for the boys though, I am so excited!

Last but not least, I am finally getting back into trying to help my poor hand get better, or at least keep it from getting worse. I went to Mesa View Physical Therapy the other day and talked with Jerid Matheson, one of the therapists there who knows the history of my hand. He is soooo awesome and I scheduled to go back next week for him and the hand specialist there to make a custom brace for my hand and fingers! I am sure it will be pricey without insurance, but I totally wouldn't pay anybody else to do it! And as soon as I do get my insurance back, Dr. Bridget Pinneck in Logandale is going to refer me to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. I cannot wait to get all of this figured out and HOPEFULLY get my hand fixed! I just hope we don't go through all this trouble to find out that nothing can be done. :( 

Anyway, enjoy my snippets of what the boys are always up to!

Fresh out of the shower!

celebrating Mommy's 27th Birthday

No binky = passed out from crying

Keagon looks SO grown-up! He now LOVES his 4-wheeler!
(We took the boys to Logandale Trails two weekends in a row before Matt left
for work and Keagon has been obsessed ever since!)

Keagon taught Justus about the consequences of stealing his strawberry milk
(the bite marks, not the bruise)

Seems to be his favorite place to sit
I don't know why, but I always find him sitting in the drawer in Justus' room!

Poppin wheelies!

Yep, he did that on purpose for the picture! I didn't tell him to.

I love my two monster boys!

One of the RARE moments of them sharing

Justus took this picture, he is obsessed with cameras

Keagon is just flat-out my silly boy right now, so cute!

Off to work again

So forgive me if this post ends up being a little on the downside. Matt just left to go work up in Reno for the month and it just seems soooo much harder to say goodbye this time around. I actually cried this time! We are extremely grateful that Matt got hired onto this job, we have definitely been watched over in more ways than one for the past few months. We have been able to spend 3 entire months together non-stop, no working for either one of us...it has been GREAT! I must admit that not having insurance is a definite downer for us, but miraculously none of us have had to go to the Dr.  
On another down in our life! Meka & Duane have just broken our hearts and shattered them into a million pieces last week when their house went up for sale. Meka had told me that they were moving to Chicago, but I didn't think it would happen. Or I should say, I was REALLY hoping it wouldn't happen. The worrying and tense nights have already started for me and I know it has for them, as well; and they aren't even gone yet, lol! I just love and appreciate them for the examples they have been to Matt & I. It doesn't get any better than having your best friends living right next door to you! I can speak for Justus & Eden, as well. BUT, Duane & Meka are following their hearts and doing what they need to do for their family, which is awesome that they have soooo much strength to do it.
Happy note time! I know this is a bunch of random stuff, but these are all big news moments for me and I want to share them. My Mom has been on the Weight Watchers program for a few months and has lost around 20 lbs....I think. She looks amazing already! We always joke about her "cute butt" and this and that, but in all honesty, my Mom has a cute butt, haha! Since she has lost some weight, she got to get rid of one of her medications, which is AWESOME and she feels good about herself again. It is nice to see my Mom not as frustrated with herself so much anymore. She still plans to lose more weight and I hope she does well! I am so proud of you, Mom! I love you!
Another thing that puts a smile on my face.....?  My sister, Jordan is marrying her best friend in June!!!! We couldn't be happier for them, we absolutely LOVE Eric!  I am nervous to be in the wedding though. My own wedding was very low-key and simple and that was enough for me; their wedding is going to be very elegant and beautiful and that makes me nervous, haha. 
Anyway, I have a big idea for myself to lose as much weight as possible while Matt is away working so that he can come home to a somewhat healthy wife that he totally deserves. The poor guy is so sweet to me and tells me that I'm not overweight, but I do know the truth, however. He is so gorgeous and has this beautiful body and I think he deserves for me to look decent and like I take care of myself, so that's what I plan to give him! Wish me luck!!!
Well, my hand is giving up on the typing so goodnight!

Bye-Bye Terrible Twos....Hello....threes are the same?!

I find myself wondering why people even say that "twos" are "terrible" because in all honesty, I don't think anything will change by next week when Justus turns THREE! The whole "Terrible Twos" title....it's a lie! Justus has been in this phase since before two years old and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. I am now calling it "terrible two-and-a-half years" as in this hopefully will have an end after a two-and-a-half-year streak! We shall see!
Anyway, my sweet yet naughty little boy, Justus will be three years old on Friday the 17th! I was looking at all of his baby stuff the other day and it made me sad. BUT, I am so happy to have him at the age that he is at right now. Once you get past the naughtiness, he says and does the funniest things and can be so so sweet a lot of the time. I love him so much and I totally wouldn't change a single thing about my crazy little Matt Jr!!!!! Here is a list of things about him at this point:

1. Since his first 4-wheeler ride at 2 months old, he is still crazy about his motorcycles. His eyes just light up when he hears them, sees them or even hears somebody talking about them.

2. He is always wanting to go to Eden's house to play, he loves her! And he also LOVES Meka! When he sees her, he turns into this crazy, wild, uncontrollably hyper little boy. It is too funny!

3. "Blow" by Ke$ha! He asks for us to turn it on all the time

4. Still not potty trained BUT he is getting very close!

5. He has become more aware that an eye-patch is not a normal thing and he doesn't like having his on each day. It is a constant battle every single day just to get him to keep it on for 1 hour.

6. His little brother eats waaaaay more than Justus! The only things Justus ever wants to eat is fruit snacks or candy. Yeah, we won't be buying fruit snacks anymore and candy is out of the question, as well!

7. His favorite movie used to be Polar Express. Then it was......can't remember right now, lol! SMURFS!~ Now it is Peter Pan: The Return To Neverland! We watch it several times throughout the day.

8. Although his new favorite movie is Peter Pan, he still goes everywhere singing the song the Smurfs always sing. In fact, as I am blogging right now, he is walking over to me singing it, lol! (and asking for a fruit snack)

9. He has been having a LOT of nightmares lately. But then again, so have I. I don't know what the deal is, but something has got to give.

10. Love Love Loves! his Bumpa, Gay-Gay, Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie Jordan-Amber- Carlie, Pig, Thomas and his new Uncle Jason! And has always loved his Uncle Eric!!!!!

I could just go on and on about my little guy, I love him so much! Every time we drive past our church building he asks if we can go to Church and he can go to Nursery. That just melts my heart and I hope that never changes in him! My future little missionary, that he is. :)
Sorry if this is all boring to those of you who read this, but it will be his Birthday and this is all about Justus!!!!!!!

P.S. Did I mention he is obsessed with GOLF?! Matt takes him golfing in Mesquite all the time and he loves it! He has an awesome swing, too!

(I tried to add a bunch of pics of Justus but for some reason, the only thing blogger will let me add is the picture right above....weird)

Busy Busy Busy!

OK, so our life has been crazy hectic lately. I could put an exclamation mark at the end of that sentence, like I would normally do, BUT that wouldn't do it justice. The beginning of January, I had some blood tests done to see if anything would show up for any type of disease or syndrome or anything that could be causing my nerve problems. I bet you can guess what those tests showed?! My cholesterol is good, no autoimmune disease, no lupus, wbc count was great....everything was great! To tell the truth, I was really hoping something would have shown up so I can move on and get this taken care of. But that would be too easy. :) So we continue the brain-racking to find an answer.

The very next week we went to Disneyland so that all the cousins from my Dad's kids could meet their new cousin from Australia, Jemma! Her Dad, Jason, just married my oldest sister, Christine. Jemma is 8 years old and it was her first time out of Australia and on a plane. She was a bit shy and homesick at first and was missing her Mom, but that is to be expected. We love that little girl so much! Her accent is AWESOME!!!!! I wish we could keep her here with us, but obviously she has her home to go back to. ;(
The Disneyland trip was a success! The first day was at CA Adventure and Justus was sick with the flu so he spent most of the day in the stroller with Keagon, which worked out great since he was too little for 99% of the rides there. Day 2 was awesome...Justus loved all the rides and got to meet Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck!



After we were done at Disneyland, we went to Jordan's house and stayed for a few days. My Mom & I went with Jordan that Sunday to try on wedding dresses that she had wanted to try. She found THE ONE! It brought tears to our eyes and she had her "bridal moment" where she just knew it was her dress. She looked absolutely beautiful in it!!!!!! The girl that was helping her said that she was her own "personal barbie" that she got to put in wedding dresses, lol! Yes, my sister is definitely beautiful!

This last weekend we went to San Simeon, CA for my oldest sister, Christine's wedding to Jason! The wedding was small, short, sweet and beautiful, as was Christie! I have never seen her so happy before and Jason is just such a wonderful man. Him and Justus and Keagon just love each other so much, it is crazy. We LOVE Jason and little sweet Jemma, his daughter, so much that words can't describe. It was a great wedding and reception and a mini-vacation for us. It rained a lot and we loved every second of it!



This is beautiful Jemma Fielding who we absolutely fell in love with!!!! She is our new neice from Australia! I can't wait to go visit them someday, hopefully soon. We already miss being around her!




Justus, Keagon, Uncle Jason and Aunt CeCe (Christie). Christie was absolutely beautiful and Jason is such a great Uncle to our boys! Congrats to you guys! We love you!


Yep, we got Justus to "slow dance" with his cousin Genesis, for about 2 seconds for this picture! The rest of the time these two were pulling each other all over the dance floor in circles! They are inseperable when they are around each other, it's too funny! I guess we will have to explain to them that they are COUSINS as soon as they understand the concept, lol!!!

Christmas and beyond!

Christmas was great for our family! Not only did my family get to be together on Christmas Eve and morning

but we totally got to spoil the boys and ourselves, which was really nice. I know that's not what Christmas is about but it did give us an excuse to get the things we had been wanting for quite a while now.
I got my dream bedroom set that I have been wanting for 5 years now! AND, Matt found a super great deal on some exercise equipment for me so I can drop my Gold's Gym membership and not have any excuses to not workout when I have everything in my garage just waiting to be used! (I also got a new bed with the bedroom set, which is super big and super comfy!!!!!)

Justus got this super cool Power Wheels Dune Racer from Santa. He totally loves it and he also totally ran Mommy over with it in the driveway! The thing is powerful! I must admit he is a good driver, but he was a bit confused when Matt told him to go see me and ran me over, lol! Gotta love him! (Don't worry, we got Keagon a small 4-wheeler, but he is too scared to even sit on it.)

I really really love this sweet picture of Matt & Keagon! What a little snuggler Keagon is, he is my little "Tenderheart".



Justus is still our crazy child.....too many ways to describe him....but since I am going with "Tenderheart" for Keagon then I must go with "Braveheart" for Justus. I think those names pretty much sum them both up perfectly! Although, Keagon is becoming more and more like Justus with each passing day.

This little boy's eyes and face will just melt you heart in a matter of seconds....I know he does mine!

This picture was on Christmas morning and I am so super happy with how much Keagon loves the blanket I made him! He is totally snuggling up to it in the picture and I wanted to cry with happiness! It is camo minky on one side and super plush material on the back side. I made Justus the same thing but a different color of camo and backing. I wanted soft blankets for them to grow with and can't ever find anything original/suitable for them, so I spent quite a bit of money to get the minky fabric.

This is one of the RARE pictures I will ever get of my parents! My Dad really hates getting his picture taken so don't tell him I posted this. :)  Shhhhhh!

Let me just tell ya, this man, Eric, in the picture with Jordan is a very good guy! He couldn't be any more perfect for Jordan or our family than he is!!!! He proposed about a week before Christmas and we are soooooo super happy for them!

And you know, if Uncle "Eck" is going to buy the kids toys, he should get to play with them, as well, right?!  LOL!

And all we had to get Keagon was a few drawers to sit in?????! He is so stinking cute!

Justus set up his little trucks and tent to go camping.  :)  He is such a little man and says the funniest things these days!

I hope everybody has had a wonderful start to the new year and can better themselves in every way possible this year! Love you all!

Different Thanksgiving

First of all, I have to say that I just LOVE this video! I miss seeing that smile and hearing Matt's laugh every day. I can't wait to have him home again, it can't come fast enough! I love and miss you, Hun!

This Thanksgiving is definitely not a normal one for our family. Matt is having to work through the holiday at the last minute, so we were planning on him coming home for a day to be with the boys and I, but he called late last night and told me that he has to work. I am sad about it, but we do have to look on the bright side and be thankful that he is able to continue working to support our family. I just wish he were home today so that I could see him and the boys play and love on each other. When the three of them get to playing around, it's the greatest and happiest sight to see!!!! I love my family!
Of all the things in this world that I am thankful for, I am most thankful for my family. In my short life I am lucky to have wonderful family (and friends) around me and I am so glad that I am a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! I have always known in my heart that it is the true church but was always "inactive". I am extremely grateful that we moved next door to Duane & Meka Hilton and into our loving and welcoming ward! Bishop Turner has really inspired and helped Matt & I to work toward our goal of going to the Temple. We appreciate his spirit, love and support so much that words can't express.
Anyway, I am thankful for many things and shouldn't be greedy, but today I pray that those who are traveling can do so in safety and that Matt can have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day (even though he is not here and has to work). I also pray that all my friends and family know how much I love and appreciate them, and this includes all of my Pelican Creek Ward family! Love you all and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!