He's FIVE

Zach turned five! 

He chose a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Themed Party. 

I had lots of fun planning his little party and watching Zach's excitement over every detail of the party.

"We" (I) made Ninja Turtle shells and nun chucks for each guest. 

We did some ninja training with friends. (Silly stringed the bad guys, played dodge ball with Trevor, and showed off some great ninja moves) 

We played a few games including 'Pin the pizza on the ninja turtle'. 

 Zach's one request was a pinata at the party. He obviously took the challenge of destroying it very seriously.

We ate some Cake and Ice Cream and open presents. 

 My sweet Zach was so enthused about the whole thing. He was especially thoughtful in thanking his friends several times for each present and for coming to his party. He made sure each kid got a turn playing the games and that everyone was included. I was so proud of how interacted with everyone. He has matured so much the last several months and really is such a sweet little five year old. I loved watching him enjoy himself.

 Happy Birthday Zachy!

It's interesting how sometimes it takes a trial to remind us how blessed we are.

 I am so grateful for these three boys.

Dean

I love this little guy. 

Even when he clogs our bathroom toilets with an entire roll of toilet paper. Or sneaks into my makeup bag and combs his hair and paints the walls with mascara. Or when I'm having a meeting with the young women's president and he decides to entertain brothers by peeing on the carpet for fun. Or every night at dinner time, when, no matter what the meal may be, he looks at it and says, "disgusting!" Or when he finds a pair of scissors and decides to cut apart our bed sheets. 

I love this little guy. 

Especially when he asks me to cuddle beside him at bed time and rubs my head and back while I lay there. Or when someone is leaving our house, whether a repairman or playmate, and he always says goodbye with a "love you" and a few blown kisses. Or that he can't go to sleep without giving his brothers tight squeezes. Or when he decides to potty train himself. Or when he wears his buzz lightyear backpack wherever we go and talks about going to school. Or especially when he asks his older brothers to help him say his prayers.

I love this little guy. It's hard to believe he's only two. At times, he seems much wiser. And at other times I can't believe my baby's almost three and wish he'd stay small a little longer. 

Love you, Dean. 

Boys and their Toys

Santa left three shiny Razor Scooters for the boys this year. I had no idea they'd be such a hit. The boys look for any chance to ride them, even it's just from the kitchen table to the bathroom. (Yes, they're occasionally allowed in the house. Love being the one who makes the rules.) 

This new Christmas toy has also brought out a competitive side to my boys that was bound to surface with a mother like theirs. As soon as their feet scuff the cement for take off, an intense scooter race begins. "Every man for himself", "show no mercy", "do whatever it takes to win" seem to be the motto of their scooter races, and things can get ugly real fast. 

See their determined faces?

This little dude holds his own and can take a crash more like a man than his brothers.

See... still smiling.

We have some sore losers in the group as well.

Off they go!

Sportin' a New Look

A new addition to an adorable face. 

He thinks he's Superman in disguise.

I think he's the cutest four-eyed kiddo out there.

Christmas Eve Traditions

I love Christmas Eve at my parent's house. Not only do mom's decorations look like a scene from a Christmas boutique shop but the feeling in my parent's home is magical. It was so great having the family gathered together, but we missed Rob and Sharon and their cute kids being with us.
I'm so grateful my little family got to be a part of it this year. 

We had our formal Christmas Eve dinner with the beautiful table settings, Christmas carols in the background, and an entire table reserved for holiday treats. 

We walked across the street to admire a neighbor's house buried in reindeer, Santas, 

and colored Christmas lights. 

We came home to the sound of a well-rehearsed group of Christmas carolers. 

We sat by the fire and opened our Christmas PJ presents.
We opened our stockings full of thoughtful notes we each had written of what we
admire and love about each member of the family. (A Christmas tradition favorite)

We sipped on hot chocolate and watched Christmas movie. (Arthur Christmas) 

Did the last minute prep for Santa's arrival and headed off to bed.
It was wonderful and the perfect prelude for the next morning.
Here are some pics from the evening.

My adorable niece, Claire

Uncle Danny playing with the boys

Claire cautiously playing by her rowdy boy cousins and walking with dad

 Little Deano trying to keep up with his brothers

Christmas pjs by the fire

He didn't liked being pushed off of the group hug

Neighbor's Christmas lights

Neipp family (my sis, Em, and bro-in-law, Zack on the left) caroling in our living room. 

Merry Christmas Eve

my birthday

First off, I'm old. Like 32 old. Like 'I now color my hair just to cover up all the gray' old. 

Secondly, I'm giving myself permission to share way too many photos of me because, well, it's my birthday post.

And lastly, I really am such a lucky 32 year old with a beautiful, happy life. 

Jonny made this sweet poster for me. 

Love his spelling. Translation: "Happy Birthday. Me and you together. Mom, from Jonny." 

It's a picture of Trevor, me, and Jonny. Love it. 

My parents took Trevor and me out for a birthday breakfast ( so yummy, thanks Mom and Dad) while Emily took all three boys to the dollar store and let them choose a birthday gift to give to me. 

Such a great sister (and brave aunt for taking all three munchkins to that crazy store by herself) Thanks Em.

Jonny drew me this lovely pic of a necklace with the word "money" on top and said if he had lots of money he'd buy me a necklace for my birthday. 

 Zach bought me a mirror, so he could look at his cute self.

 Dean (who was being entertained by grandpa) chose some candles in the shape of chocolate. Very fitting.

And Jonny picked out a foot scrubber because he knows what his mama's heels look like.

 I loved these simple gifts from my boys. Not sure why they meant so much to me, but they did. 

I also love these photos. Can't help but grin when I look through them, because not only do they capture a 'happy mom moment', but they show a portion of the joy my kids bring me. What a wonderful birthday.

Happy Birthday to me!

polar express experience

We took a trip to the North Pole on the Grand Canyon Polar Express this year. The boys were over the moon about seeing where the elves live and meeting the REAL Santa Claus. 

We bundled up and celebrated being in cold weather for a change by having a snowball fight. It turned in to more of an ice block fight which I tried breaking up several times but the boys were determined to knock each other out with the biggest solid chunk of ice they could find. Boys!!

 The entire Nielsen clan came along for the train ride. We were happy to spend more time with them before we headed out to California for Christmas.

We boarded the train and found our seats. 

Here are the boys in their warm Santa jammies. Ignore the face of the child who looks like he belongs on the naughty list. Little stinker. 

Cookies and hot chocolate were served to everyone. We sang Christmas carols, and listened to the Polar Express book read throughout the train.

 Grandpa Nielsen with his granddaughters

Grandma Nielsen with energetic Zach

Reaching the North Pole we drove through Santa's town where we saw Santa and his elf on the sleigh being pulled by the reindeer. 

Then Santa boarded the train. So exciting for the kids. 

He made his way through the train and handed each child a Christmas bell.

I think he's a believer.

For the boys, the experience was magical. 

(For me...well, it was chaotic and crowded, and let's just say by the end of the train ride I wanted to pull all my hair out or scream at anyone who touched me... to put it lightly. ha ha, wish I were joking) 

But the boys loved the whole thing and that's what's important, right? 

Just don't ask me to go again next year. 

We drove a few extra hours west to shave some time off our drive to CA the following day. By the time we made it to the Hotel the boys were all conked out. 

Honestly, it was a great start to such a wonderful Christmas vacation.