When I'm not cleaning up messes..

I'm making them! As many of my patient family will tell you, Ihave yet to find the perfect balance between work and play. When life gets a little overwhelming, instead of simplifying I usually add something else to do, something fun. This week I made all the treats for YW New Beginnings. I am blogging instead of cleaning up the mess in my kitchen right now, but I will remember the treats and not the mess, right? Cherry chocolate with rich chocolate buttercream and chocolate covered tart cherries. Red velvet with cream cheese butter frosting...yummy.

Lukey is always my baking pal.

These are the mini cherry cheesecakes that my mom used to make. Soooo tasty!

This is my fridge, a WW nightmare. However, I stayed strong and just had one of each.

I also learned how to crochet this week. I went in search of a beanie like this one for Henry and came up with nothing. Etsy had some for $30, but that is money that can go towards a lot of other fun things, so I decided to learn. Four bucks for the needle, 2.99 for the yarn, a pattern on someone's blog and here it is. It is too big for Henry (hence the Bear model), but I know where I went wrong and as soon as my house is clean, I will finish the next one. I also made some flowers for my niece out of cream and pink yarn, so adorable! Come to think of it, the house cleaning can wait.

Traditions

We have started going on a "hike" on the days that Brian has off work. Our crew is finally mobile, including Mommy and it is fun to get out, get some fresh air and hang out with friends. New Years found us at Papago with family, and this MLK day we went to Lost Duchman's Park with the Britts, Taits and Brian's brother Darrell and his family. Eating lunch after the hike, we had some hungry, mungry kiddos!

The hike proved a little challenging for Luke, here he is pleading to go back to the van.

Kings of the mountain (Henry's hidden underneath several layers of blankets in the Bjorn)

Popsicle Jeffey, it got "a little nippy going through the pass"

Life is getting more and more fun with these boys!

Ben was a champ, he made it to the top first and lead the way with Jaimie on the way down.

I got a little nervous at all the places the boys, especially Jeff wanted to explore. Broken bones are expensive!

Our chilly little family. The pictures with all six of us are still amazing to me! Thanks to everyone who came and made the day so much fun. We ended with a rocket blast off and ice cream at the Ghost Town. Fun times.

Adventure Day with Papa

Benjamin had a very special day yesterday. He went to the mines (they are still convinced you pronounce it "minds") with Papa and Noah on an adventure. The boys went exploring in caves, brought home fools gold, bullets and lots of memories. Ben and Noah have been talking about this for a weeks and weren't disappointed. They came home exhausted and woke up telling us all about cacti and the Taco Bell that was also a Pizza Hut. Quesadillias and Cheese Pizza made for a great ending to a very fun day. The lucky boys. Thanks Papa, we love you!

All Growed Up!

It's Lukey's turn! And I don't think any little boy has ever been this excited to join the ranks of his big brothers and go to school. Luke started a little community preschool this week and did great. The first day was a little shakey, but he is now soooo happy to go in the mornings. They sang the "Tiny Turtle" song that Aunt Cletty taught us and that sealed the deal. I can't believe how fast they are all growing up. It seems like just yesterday I had three little babies under 3. It is hard to let my little baby boy get big. Good thing he still likes to cuddle with his mommy!

The Best Compliment Ever

We were at the pediatrician's office two weeks ago. There is a nurse there that has been helping our family for the last five and half years. We love Karen. She came in to see the newest addition. She was holding Henry giving him luvs and kisses and she held him up and said "Your a lucky boy, God sent you to a really great family."
I love the way that Heavenly Father comforts us through other people. We do have a wonderful life and God did bless me with a great family.

I think I am the lucky one! This little happy guy has stolen my heart in the last few days.

Amidst the Hustle and Bustle...

If I'm being completely honest the holidays this year were a bit of a blur. Between having a relatively new baby, a lot of family in town and trying to coordinate quite a few events at our home, not to mention three cases of the stomach flu and RSV I struggled to maintain the Christmas spirit all of the time. The day after Christmas I was already taking down the tree. (all of which is highly uncharacteristic of me!) I am so glad to be back in a regular routine and out of survival mood. Bah Humbug, I know!
However, looking back there were some shining moments that made all the chaos very rewarding. My favorite night was Christmas eve at our house. Almost all of Brian's family and all of my family came and we celebrated the birth of the Savior. The children did the nativity, a few of the kids sang, Josh played for us on my new piano (thanks to Gordon and Ruth), and Brian, Marshall and Aubrey also shared a song. It was a wonderful night and my fondest memory of the holidays. Henry was a shoe-in for the Baby Jesus, although his "Nanny" had to step in when he got a little fussy and "Joseph" quickly remarked that we'd better replace him with his baby sister.

I have to quote my sister-in-law for this picture "The menagerie attending the holy birth. Sheep, goats and maybe, a dog too. But I bet you didn't know there was a dinosaur there that night, did you. St. Luke forgot to mention that. But little Lukey made sure that we remembered."

The shepards. It's always hard when the only sought after girl part is Mary.

The angelic hosts.

"We three kings of Orient are.." (sporting a really nice Underdog costume!)

Despite the lack of correct costumes, it was a sweet little pagent.

Another highlight of Christmas was this trampoline. The boys love it! They jump with Brian at night, play "crack the egg" and we have even read stories and looked at the stars. Great call Santa!

After the nativity, shooting off the rocket comes in at a close second for the best thing about the holidays. Aunt Tamee bought one for Jeff and was so kind to track all over to find the best engines. The result: a lot of happy children, Dads and Papa.

If Christmas is about family, then we sure had a great one. Even though the pace was a little much and Ben throwing up while taking family pictures was no picnic, we made a lot of great memories. I am always amazed at how well all of both of our families get along and love each other. My boys are so lucky to have so many cousins, aunt, uncles and both sets of grandparents that are such a big part of their lives. I am so fortunate to have so much help and many great examples to help me be a mom.

On a side note Brian again suprised me with a beautiful ring in a beautiful blue box on Christmas moring, also made the season very fun!

Gearing Up for Santa

Santa visits came in stages this year: Lukey and Henry saw Santa at the Ward Party while Daddy, Ben and Jeffey were at the ASU game. (they later joined us for treats)
We went to the mall and waited and waited and waited to see Santa, and then when we got to the front of the line there was a sign that said that you couldn't take a picture with your own camera. We were not dressed for a $25 photo, so the nice man told me it was okay if I snapped one. So we have proof! Jeff asked for a dog and Luke asked for a turtle. I told them to tell Santa to get them something cool, and that mommy would help him know what they would love. (the trampoline the Big Guy brought was a hit!)
While we were at the mall the boys picked out a Build-A-Bear for Henry. They named him Beary Soft and lovingly washed him and got him ready for their little brother.
It was adorable to see them get a gift for the baby. They were really excited.

Vetern's Day

I'm just going to quote my sister on this post, she said it sooo well:
"Veterans Day off school we went to the dairy. It smelled, we took the new babies and saw lots of cows and learned all the information about how they are made to have a baby every year... hmmm maybe you'll only think that sounds horrible if you just had a baby! The kiddos and cousins loved it! Some one came up to me while I was pushing the double stroller and asked if I wanted to join a twin support group. No but do they have a support group for sisters who had their babies too close together to be much help to each other!"