Kids, Birthday, Portland

It's been a while since I've blogged.  I need to keep this up because it keeps me grateful, centered, and happy.  And again, I can't stand how my kids are growing up!  I need to remember them.  We recently did a family photo shoot.  We haven't gotten all the pictures yet but she posted this one on facebook as a sneak peak.  It shows each of these kids' personalities so well!

There's Corbin with his silly, fun-loving personality.  Then Caliah who is always so sweet and looking like an angel.  Then Conley with his "cool," serious personality.  I'm so excited to see the rest of the pictures! 

Just a few things about each of the kids:

We love having a little girl!  I think we say that everyday.  Caliah is as girly-girl as it gets.  Caliah's newest favorite thing is getting her nails painted.  She holds her hands together and loves to show people her "pretty nails" and her "pretty toes."  Her favorite color is for sure pink.  She's been getting her nails painted several times a week lately.  I've given up on painting her right thumb because she's always sucking on it.  Maybe someday when she gets that she's not getting that nail painted because of her habit it will be motivation to quit.  

She also loves shoes...she is almost always wearing shoes that she brings for me to put on her.  She likes dresses...lately she has been taking her baby blessing dress out of the closet and admiring it and showing it to me.  And if you can't get any more girly, she likes her bows.  One of the most clear words she says right now is "bow."

She has a lot of favorite things that she likes to do she here's the list:

• Have her baby swaddled.  She is always bringing her baby to me with a blanket so that I can wrap her up tight.  I thought my days of trying to figure out how to make a baby stay in a swaddle were over for a little bit longer.  Luckily dolls are not as wiggly as babies and so they stay in longer.  
• Be wrapped up in a blanket herself (or her princess towel).  Here's an adorable pic:
  
• She loves to read books.  All my kids have which is a great blessing...definitely one of my favorite things to do together too. 
• Talking to daddy on the phone.  She's pretty obsessed about taking the phone from me when she knows it's him.
• Her and her daddy have a song and she recognizes it when he turns it on now.  It's Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud."  They cuddle up and dance and it's pretty adorable. 
• She's talking up a storm lately...mostly jibberish but the days of full sentences are just around the corner. 
• Today she wanted to sit on the toilet because she saw Corbin going potty.  Then she proceeded to wipe all by herself (she didn't go potty though).  She wiped a few too many times.  This was the first very obvious time that she's shown interest in going on the potty.  Wow, I might have no diapered children for the first time in over 4 years! 

Corbin is our silly, determined dare devil as always.  Him and Conley and are going to preschool together at Pocatello Valley Montessori School.  Him and Conley spend their days playing legos and playing make-believe fighting something or other.  Here's a funny story that demonstrates Corbin's "I'm up for anything" personality.  Our cat had killed a mouse and Conley came inside to tell me to come look.  I went outside and look around at where the cat is and I don't see a mouse.  All of the sudden, Corbin goes, "Here it is mom!"  He's holding it by the tail right in front of me.  In a sort of panicky, slow-like manner,  I tell him to "put the mouse down...!"  He's seeing that I'm freaking out a bit and it like, "It's okay, Mom.  It's dead. It's okay."  I then have to explain to him why it's not okay to pick up dead animals and he gets good handwashing.  Him and Caliah then are thoroughly entertained and they squat next the cat watching him pull about and devour the mouse, guts, blood, and all.  Conley and I on the other hand, are very disgusted.  Conley can hardly look at it.  I love how my two boys are so different!

Conley celebrated his 5th birthday!

We went to the corn maze and he invited his cousins and friends.  They had bounce houses, slides, and barrel train rides there as well.  We had pizza and cupcakes and Conley got some lego and lego watches from his friends, a helmet from grandma, a car from great-grandma, and a bike and ninja costume from mom and dad.  It was a hit and they were talking about it for days before and after.  Conley is continuing to be very intellectual about numbers.  He can do addition now without really counting on his fingers.  He is semi-interested in reading (him and Corbin both like trying to figure the beginning sounds of words) but definitely has more of a drive for math concepts right now.  One of the things I love about Conley is he goes, "Mom, I have to tell you something......I love you."  

This past week we took a last minute trip to Portland.  Juan was going there for a conference so we came too and played.  We did the Oregon Zoo, Children's Museum, Forest Park (amazingly beautiful), the Rose Gardens, and went to a Halloween carnival at the park.  Portland and Oregon itself were gorgeous.  I definitely have my perspective of the state expanded.  Here's some pictures from our trip:

I'll end with my testimony that God is aware of us even though he gives us ginormous trials to make us grow.  There is much to be grateful for!  We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Church, Park, Library, & Life

Happy Sabbath everyone!  I took a picture or the kids before church today...I don't know how many pictures I have of them dressed up because they are usually quick to change afterward and I probably can't catch them all dressed at the same time.  Aren' they handsome?  And here's the princess in her new yard sale dress :) I couldn't get Corbin to stop doing that super hero stance, or to wear it tie...it "chokes" him.

I am just starting the post today by looking at what pictures I have from the week because otherwise I don't remember what we did.  We sure do spend a lot of time at the park...especially since it's almost summer.  The last couple weeks it has had to be in between in the rainstorms.  We sure will miss the park in walking distance someday when we move!

Caliah loves getting dizzy on these spinny cups.  I have to make her stop after going a couple times each direction when her eyes look like they are going to roll back in her head although she would do it all day if I let her.  I have to distract her and make her "lose" them.  

More park pictures, different day.  Apparently I don't have any pictures of the boys because they are usually off playing some attack and hide game.  I LOVE my boys but Heavenly Father really knew me and blessed me by giving me and girl to play at my pace.

Here the boys are going to the library.  Going to the library is a special treat and we can usually spend a couple hours or more there.  They have lots of activities...puzzles, learning games, ipads, and LEGOS!  

This summer we are doing the reading program to read 10 hours to get a prize.  I made a secret goal to read to my kids everyday for "as long as they want to" meaning, we sit down and read and keep going with more books until THEY decide they want to do something else, not me saying it's the last book.  They usually go for 1/2 hour to and hour.  That's my only goal for the summer.  Sometimes I feel like as a mom I should be teaching them so much more.  This is the one and only goal I felt inspired to make so here's to reading! Conley has been really into board games and card games lately too so almost every night is game night.  He practices a lot of counting doing this.  His top games now are Lost Cities, Avengers Monopoly, Star Wars Life, and Uno Attack.  He is his best when he is playing a game and having a good time!  It's worth it staying up till 11 pm after the other kids have gone to bed to play a game with him and see the smile on his face.  

Caliah painted her picture this week!  She is starting to want to do all the things her brothers do. 

Today in church, Juan gave the 5th Sunday lesson on keeping the Sabbath Day Holy as a family.  It originated from a training from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve.  The whole goal of the church is to have "multi-generational" families where we are baptized, endowed, sealed, have children, and then the cycle starts over.  The cycle us typically broken between baptism and endowment and so it is key to have gospel teaching in the home.  Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is foundational.  I really enjoyed the teachings.  

I am supposed to do a speaking part in a musical fireside tonight about my testimony of life before and after repentance.  I still need to work on the wording but here's my jumbled thoughts.  We all come to a time in our life when life really knocks us down.  We've heard the advice, when life gets too hard to stand, kneel.   But what happens before it gets too hard until we finally realize that become sufficiently humble?  My thoughts are that I want to see change but I'm want to do it my way.  Complete humility before God is the first step.  When I submit my will to Heavenly Father and tell Him that I am willing to do anything He wants me to do if He will lift this burden from me.  When I not only say, but also DO this, he not only lifts the burden, but gives me peace and wholeness that I could never imagine or create on my own.  Repentance is REAL in my life when I have a grand feeling of gratitude for my Savior.  I know that I can't do it without Him.  He is the source of all good things in my life.  He makes it possible for me to feel love.  

God is Mindful of Us, Be Happy

Yay, I am blogging on Sunday like I said I would!  Create a habit one day at a time, right.

This week has been kinda rough because we have been sick...Caliah in particular.  It's so sad to see our little princess like that.  Her little cry was barely audible.  Today she is finally acting like she is getting better.  You can tell because she is starting to talk and laugh again.  She likes to copy what you say.  She particularly likes to say "mmmm" in different ways (like yummy food).  She also started doing something new just today...nodding her head YES.  She has been shaking her head no for quite some time but this is new!  When she does it she moves her whole body, almost like she is doing the worm.

As you will notice in pictures, you often can catch Caliah with her thumb in her mouth.  Lesser known is that you can find her other hand doing something else oftentimes as well...in her belly button.  Haha.  This was one of the days she was sick...her little eyes look so sad.   I am so glad she is getting back to normal (probably thanks to a trip to Grandma's for a good oil rub and her letting us borrow her diffuser since ours broke so that we can blast our house with RC and Thieves..thanks Mom!)

The boys had their last soccer game this week.  They both did awesome...Corbin finally played on the field by himself for the first time.  Conley had so much energy and was running circles around the field, scoring 2 goals.  They were both very proud of their trophies and pictures (I'll have to scan those and post those later).  Corbin planned out exactly where in his room he was going to put them on the way home.

They also had their last day of preschool!  Here's three pics of their class because they all showed different personalities and I couldn't choose which one. (I do like the funny one though.)

Again, I am so grateful to have met Kylie because this was the perfect preschool program for them!  I asked them what they wanted to give their teacher as a gift since it was their last day and they said, "A necklace!"  So I got out some beads and they made a necklace for her all by themselves!  It was pretty multi-colored but it was very sweet.  


One thing that always fills our days are lots of lego creations.  I want to start taking more pictures of the things Conley and Corbin build.  I am always so impressed!  Conley is so skilled with putting pieces together...it's amazing to watch him.

Another thing we have been doing this week is playing board games particularly with Conley.  He caught on very well to Lost Cities (which says it is for age 10+!).  It is crazy to see my little boy becoming so smart.  Playing the games really helps with his counting and he loves it!  After Corbin and Caliah have gone to bed we play and it is really fun to spend that two on one time with him.  We are challenging as parents with him from time to time as he can get angry and demanding (he doesn't like it when his little brother and sister mess with his stuff...the life of being the oldest).  So seeing him happy and excited is rewarding.  

A little about Juan and I...Juan is starting his LAST semester of his master's program in Coaching and Athletic Administration!  We are so grateful that we were able to find a masters program that worked perfect with our lives and is something that he loves.  There have been some late nights but it's been good and I am proud of Juan for pursuing this goal.  

Last week, I went with mom to a Whole-Person Preparedness Conference (Body, Mind, & Spirit) in Idaho Falls.  It was awesome!  I learned so much and really felt uplifted from the things I learned...one of those things being about living at a higher vibration.  We really are just meant to be happy which comes from living by faith.  There is much opposition in this world but God is mindful of us and we just need to look steadfastly to Him.  A couple quotes I like from the conference:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” - Albert Einstein

The greatest tragedy in life is the prayers that go unanswered because they go unasked. 

One other thing from the conference...there is this free download from Kirk Duncan who wrote Mind of Steel.  It is a two hour audio that goes over how to monitor thoughts so that you can have better life results.  It has been worthwhile for me to listen to so check it out if you want here: www.3keyelements.com/mind

Until next week!  Love on!

Soccer, preschool, and spring!

I decided to start keeping a family blog, mostly just to keep a record/family journal, and to be able to reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. These little munchkins are going to grow up on us way too fast (even though some days seem long).  I plan to write on a weekly basis (probably each Sunday). This might also help us to stay better in the loop with our friends and family.  If you have a blog, make sure to send me your address too! My goal is to keep this as simple as possible, so no fancy blog designs and maybe not even proofreading (gasp)...just an expressive place.  That is so unlike me but I'm doing it anyways!

I guess I will start out by sharing some pics and writing a little diddle about my kids.  My heart just starts to crumble when I think that someday they won't be doing the cute little things they do and the worst part is that I might forget that they ever did them!  No!!!

So here's Caliah.  We got her this kitty for Easter and she loves it.  She was a little scared of it at first but now she carries it around like a doll and hugs and kisses it.  She is over 15 months now and is really starting to get a little personality.  She's gone into nursery a couple times just to check it out and she has loved it...I can't believe my baby is almost old enough for nursery!

Oh yeah, and she still sucks her thumb...all. the. time.  It's still cute to me though...

Here's some pics from Conley and Corbin's soccer games.  Corbin hasn't cared so much to play but they both love that they got to be the GOLD team.  Always seeing the good in things right...everybody else sees it as pee yellow and they are on top of the world wearing gold!  Conley has scored two goals this season.  This is a picture of him right after he scored.  

That's they best feeling as a parent to see your child succeed and be so excited about it!

Other highlights from the season have been when Conley was kicking the ball and another kid fell down in front of him so he picked up the ball and threw it over him and then tried to jump over the kid himself and fell down.  Also, the time when they other team had scored like 10 goals in a row and Conley kept track and came to us on the sidelines every time and showed us how much we were getting beat by on his fingers.  Who knew this kid could count so good! 

This is Caliah at one of the games with one of the others players little brother.  I am glad I had my camera out at that moment because she is giving him one mean glare! Haha. 

Up next, preschool pictures.  It's been fun having Conley and Corbin going to the same preschool this year (we will probably separate them next year though).  Their teacher has been great and they love it.  

This is the day they learned about worms.  

 Conley had to bring something to preschool that started with the letter "e".  He REALLY wanted to bring legos though so he brought a lego car he had made with an  ENGINE.  You could even open it up to see where the engine was.

Sibling love...

I have been wanting a bike trailer for a long time and we finally got one that I found on craigslist!  It's nice to be able to do something all together as a family that is also kind of a stress reliever.

And sometimes they fall asleep in it.  Looks comfy, right?

We are almost done with our clubhouse!  It's been a year since we started it so hopefully we will see it's completion within the next few weeks so that the kids can enjoy it all summer.  We basically just have to paint it and place.  Here the boys are staining the deck.  

Awe...that was therapeutic.  Even though my dishes are not done :)  I saw a quote the other day that is me today:  I tried to be awesome today but I was too tired from being so awesome yesterday.  (I cleaned bathroom and bathtubs and folding a zillion loads of laundry :))

Until later!