Jaxon

Remember this little guy?

Well..  he’s getting all big and stuff.

(What is going on with this?  My kiddos think it’s okay too?!)

But, he’s a cutie!

We got lots of laughs..

I loved that tongue!

This one just cracks me up..  I think he was annoyed with me a little. 

 

The sweetest was when he started to get tired and fuss a little..  his beautiful mom started singing to him.

(She is a singer, has a gorgeous voice.)

Singing nursery rhymes and primary songs..  so sweet.

 

My favorite…

Grandpa’s 90th.

My grandpa is one handsome fellow.

I also happen to love him very much.

I am so thankful that he is here, that we were able to celebrate his 90th birthday with him.

(That might be a little selfish, I am sure he would love to be with Grandma..)

Four generations..

The toy closet..  been having good times here for a long time!

Sunset from Grandpa’s back yard.  One of the best places to view a sunset.

A “duh” moment, from yours truly.

I have had this wonderful friend since second grade.
I begged her to take me to Hawaii, in her suitcase, at the end of that year.  Her family was going, and heck, I wanted to be there too.
(She did bring me home some fun souvenirs and tasty macadamias..  they mostly made up for not taking me.)
I have so many great memories of those days!  We had a lot of fun.
We still keep in contact, and I love the creative soul she is.
Today, after reading up on everyone on Facebook (good old Facebook…) I realized, she has a blog promoting her Etsy store!!!
DUH!
(I have these moments all too often.  I will blame it on the three placentas that have been attached to my uterus and have subsequently sucked out most of the functioning brain cells that used to help me along.)
She has wonderful tutorials, such cute ideas, and then there’s the goodies she sells.
They make me want to bake!
(Or have another baby…)
My favorite pot holders:

Go check out her blog here.
And her store here.

Compassion, pre-school style.

I realized, typing the title, that Peyton is officially classified as a “pre-schooler” now.  Not that she is in pre-school..  but she is no longer a toddler.

(Sniff..)

She has been learning to be quite the compassionate soul, and that development makes this mother heart smile.

I mentioned previously that we have been introducing our children to the best things life has to offer.

(“Star Wars”,  “Indiana Jones”, marshmallow creme, and cadbury eggs..  many other good things belong here.)

Peyton asked one day to watch a Darth Vader “oooo-vie”.  The way she described it to me went something like this:

“I want to watch the Darth Vader oooo-vie when Luke Skywalker takes off Darth Vader’s mask and you see all of his owies…  how did Darth Vader get owies mom?”

I told her how he got them, to the best of my knowledge, as I have not seen that particular prequel in it’s entirety.  Something about lava and limbs being cut off, yada-yada-yada..

She responded with a sympathetic hand to her chest, “Oh!  Poooor Darth Vader…”

A similar thing was said later on, when my friend, Julie, called me, asking me about her son’s symptoms.  They sounded strangely familiar to Peyton’s recent ear infection, and he wasn’t presenting a fever.  After I got off the phone with her, Peyton paused between bites of her Lucky Charms long enough to ask who it was.  I explained that it was Julie, and told her what the situation was.

“Zach has an ear infection and Julie needs to take him to the doctor.  Remember when your ear hurt and you had an ear infection and we took you to the doctor?”

Hand to her chest, sad look on her little face, “Ohhhhh..  poor Zach!  I hope the doctor makes his ear better.”

It’s pretty sweet, seeing that she gets it.

Slice of life.

Life for me lately, has been all about the kids.

It seems like they eat all the time.

After school snacks are a must at our house.

Golden Double Stuff Oreos are usually that fare served.

While I would like to take more time doing all the things that I enjoy, I try to immerse myself in the life that I have chosen: to raise a family.

Pictures are slow in coming around these parts.  I tend to take more time in taking them, wanting them to have meaning. 

But I so enjoy these little snapshots of our life.

(I really like Double Stuff Golden Oreos too.)

(But don’t tell my younger brother, he thinks that is blasphemy.)

Go see what life is to others…

A little Spring for your Monday. *UPDATED WITH LINKY*

At my house, right this minute, it is snowing.  There is a little thunder and lightening mixed in with that snow too.  Out my front door, when I took the girls to school, there was the sun shining, but in the distance, dark, dark clouds.  We could hear the thunder and knew what was coming.  When we looked out the back door, it was so deceptive!  There was full sunshine, a little blue sky, some light, white clouds, but a totally different world out that back door.
The point in all of this..
It is springtime in Utah.
This is how I have to get my fix for Spring on days like today:
Echo Park has a new line out today, “Sidewalk Chalk”.
(Click on image for full credits.)

Spendid Fiins has Baker’s Twine, new in store today.  I love the stuff already!!
(Click on image for full credits.)

Hope you have a little Spring wherever you are!
(Hope you can find some if you are in the same boat that I am..  or sled.)
Just for kicks and giggles, here’s the templates I made for these layouts, for you, for FREEEEE!! 
If you use them, link up to this post, show me what you did with them.
Swooshy squares template.
Simple Circles template.
**I wasn’t sure how difficult/time-consuming it would be to add a linky to this post, to, you know, link up what you did with the template, but turns out it’s not so hard!
So link away ladies…
Link away.**

Fantastic parenting.

There are expectations we all have when it comes to parenting.  For some, it is about passing on traditions, maybe interests or talents, good behavior or chill attitudes.  In our house, it is all about teaching them how to appreciate good music and movies(among other important things).

This last month, what with the self-quarantining and such, we introduced our children properly to the “Indiana Jones” trilogy. 

(We haven’t yet tried on the Crystal Skull deal yet, we’ll have to wait and see on that one..)

We initially got the usual looks (disgust and pain) from the girls with this being something that is new to them, but within five minutes of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” they were hooked. 

During “Temple of Doom” we had to hold back the laughter.  Ash insisted on sitting on the other couch and the opposite end at that, and just watching her squirm during all the bug parts was entertainment enough! 

One of my favorite moments, during “The Last Crusade” came when Ilsa (the Nazi chick as we usually refer to her) was kissing Indiana.  We had tried our best to explain to the girls the politics of the situation, so they were somewhat informed as to what a Nazi was..  Lynn turns to us in shock/disgust and exclaims: “He’s kissing a Nazi!?!?!”

We find it part of our parental duty to show these classics to our children.  We could be judged, and judged harshly if we didn’t, people.

After the success with Indiana, we showed them the “Star Wars” trilogy.

(We haven’t had the need to torture them yet by showing them the prequels.)

Lynn was ecstatic to see that Indiana Jones was still working!

(Ha!!)

They loved those too, but most disturbing, loved the “dark side” a bit too much.  Love for the Ewoks helped me to feel okay again about them later.

(That “dark side” is a treacherous thing!)

Now I have the desire to find them all vintage Star Wars shirts.  Wishing that we still had all of our old Star Wars toys..  especially the Millennium Falcon.

(I know I am not alone in this, am I siblings?)

Along with these great, and most important of teachings for my offspring, there is also the teaching of how to fully appreciate Cadbury Creme eggs. 

And Jet Puff Marshmallow Creme.

Hey, it is just being a responsible parent.