January

January is already gone and it seemed to fly by. This has been a CRAZY winter. We have hardly had any snow and honestly, it's kinda depressing. I do like the winter months if there is snow, but just the cold plus mud is not very fun. January is an insane month for our family. We have 5 birthdays to celebrate in the first 2 weeks so we run around and get to see family alot, which we love! Also, our sweet Keyton has one of those birthdays and this year he turned 6. He is getting so big. I will do a separate birthday post for him. Other than that, here is what happened in our January.

We have only had a couple decent snowstorms,

so we have taken advantage of each one of them.

Trevor helped the boys build this amazing snowman

late one night.

Seth is getting so big! He is still my shy mama's boy

which I enjoy most of the time. He thinks potty training

is for the birds and may be 7 before he decides to try it (GRRRR)

But I just can't resist those eyes! Can't you see what I mean???

His favorite things to say right now are:

I can't like you

I can't like my bed

I can't like my dinner

(are you getting the idea?)

and still his ultimate favorite: NOOOOO!

He loves horses and always wants to go to grandpa's to ride.

They love that he is a little cowboy!

We finally got to meet our sweet little niece who

was 6 weeks preemie. And she is such a doll. I couldn't

put her down. I love that cuddly newborn phase!

And doing what are kids do the very best and at least

3 times a day: drinking hot chocolate. I should buy stock in Nesquick

because I'm sure they are making a killing off of our household!

But with those 2 faces how could you say no????

New Year, New Goals

Now that the madness of Christmas is gone, and our pockets our empty, it's time to start thinking about "resolutions". I use that term loosely because honestly, I kinda cringe every time I hear it. We have to resolve to do all these things we know we are never going to accomplish. Top on my list (just like every other year and has yet to be resolved) losing some weight. The pounds seem to creep on, but why don't they ever creep back off? But that is another word i cringe at "DIET" just saying it makes me hungry! So let's say instead of dieting, I'm trying to be more cautious of what I eat and trying to work out. Another goal I have this year is to be better about my blog. I'm horrible at journal keeping and keeping up with scrap booking, so maybe if I can just throw a few pictures on here throughout the year and write about them I won't feel so guilty about failing at those other two things. Those are the only resolutions I will share on here, because they are the only ones that will be noticeable if I accomplish them (I'm hoping it will be motivation if others are watching to see if I actually do these things) The rest of my goals for this year are on a more personal level.
I can't believe how fast 2011 went by. It was truly the year that was "the best of times and the worst of times" I was terrified to move my family to Oklahoma for 5 months, but it ended up being so fun! We made some lifelong friends and some amazing lifelong memories. Keyton wants to move back there. It taught us that we don't need a big nice house and a gazillion toys (or even an oven) to keep us happy. We can have fun anywhere! It also taught me personally that I can actually survive without my family (i.e. sisters, parents, sister-in-laws, and best friends). Which I honestly didn't think I could do. I am stronger than I thought. There were definitely days that I struggled, but I did it! Now I just treasure living close to them that much more. So, coming home for us was very bittersweet. One of my fondest memories of 2011 was taking the kids to Seaworld in San Antonio. Seeing their precious faces the entire day was such a joy for me. I love to watch them discovering new things. And of course I can't forget our trip to Cancun. It was so fun to get to spend a week with Trevor without our kids. We had forgotten what that felt like. We got to do some amazing things and had so much fun with the group of friends that we went with. I will NEVER forget the color of the water, the view from my balcony, swimming with a dolphin, and of course Trevor nosediving into the pool! Good times. I can't wait to see what 2012 brings us!

New Family Pictures

I've been wanting to get family pictures done all summer, but it was just always too crazy and busy. So then I said as soon as we got home from Mexico, we were going to get them done. Then we would be all tan and looking good! But then Trevor had a little accident in Mexico and had scabs and scars all down his face. So we have been waiting for that to heal up and for it to not be quite so pink. Finally they are done, and I don't have to worry about that for another year! Yeah!

Towboy hat and boots on

This is how we have found Seth sleeping a couple of nights in a row. In his "boots on" (that is what he calls his snow boots) and of course his towboy hat! I softly take them off and then first thing in the morning he asks, "where my boots on?" He loves this get up and wears if EVERYWHERE. I hid the snow boots the other day to see if he would forget about them and what did he go for? The complete opposite of snow boots, FLIP FLOPS. I don't know which is worse???? This boy cracks me up?

New Addiction

I have spent many hours sitting in front of the computer lately doing something I swore I never would. (don't worry it's nothing too naughty) I have discovered the amazing world of digital scrapbooking. I love scrapbooking and always said I would never do it digitally because I love doing all the hands on stuff. Not to mention the fun scrapbook days with sisters and friends that I love to host. However, now that I am about 2 years behind in my scapbook because it is such an ordeal to get out all the stuff, try to make the pages with my boys crawling on top of me wanting to stamp, and working 6 hours and only completing 3 pages, I have come to the conclusion... somethings got to give. So I started looking into digital scarpbooking and I love it! It still takes time, but it is a lot faster than doing it by hand. I just hope they print and look as cute as I'm imagining them. Anyone out there have any opinion? So I wanted to share a couple projects I have worked on this week:

Other than that, we are doing great! Keyton is loving school and is also doing swimming lessons right now. He is getting so big, it is so fun and so sad all at the same time. Sometimes he says the most grown up things, and it makes me laugh. Quick story: the other day driving him and his friend to swimming they were having this deep conversation about a mom whose husband died in Iraq and now she has to work to take care of her 5 kids (something I'm sure Payson heard from his mom) and Keyton said, "wow, that has got to be difficult" It made me smile to hear these little boys talking so grown up.

Seth is getting so smart and so sassy! He is a very stubborn child and I blame his father completely for that (he couldn't possibly have gotten it from me). He likes to yell even if it is just in everyday conversation. Plus he likes to say naughty things like, "I said NO" and "Don't tell me ever again". Usually those two phrases are followed by him slamming the door. Is it bad that I just laugh????? He is OBSESSED with his cowboy hat and snow boots. He has to wear them EVERYWHERE, and Trevor and I have caught him several nights sleeping in them. Silly Seth.

Now we are looking forward to Halloween and trying to plan our costumes. It should be a good time.

I copied this from a blog I love (positivelysplendid.com) and thought she worded my feelings today so much better than I could myself. I just switched it around to suit my little Keyton

He came into our lives on January 12, 2006

At precisely 11:49 p.m., I became the mother of a bouncing baby boy.

At precisely 8:25 a.m. this morning, that same boy embarked on his first step of many in spreading his wings to ultimately leave our little nest:

He's starting kindergarten.

Where has the time gone?

It's been devoted to the bleary-eyed days I thought would never end just after we brought him home, rocking and nursing and watching around the clock.

It's been given to the days of coaxing and encouraging him through those early milestones - rolling, crawling, walking - and meticulously documenting every single one.

To the days we never got out of our pajamas, building blanket forts in the living room and reading his same favorite books over and over and over again.

To the days when his accomplishments made me immensely proud - amazed, even - and to the ones when his antics made me want to abandon ship the moment Daddy got home from work.

To the days, even just last night, when he asked me to snuggle with him at bedtime, and he reached out his hand to tickle my back while we both closed our eyes.

I never used to understand the mothers who went into mourning over seemingly small events like a first day of kindergarten. I am not an overly sentimental person. Truly. But motherhood - oh how it changes things.

For five sweet years, he has been all mine.

And now slowly, surely - in incremental steps that would be imperceptible to all but a mother's heart - I'll begin the bittersweet process of letting him test the foundation I've been diligently laying for him since that January night when he was first placed in my arms.

I love you Keyton and look forward to seeing you step off that bus today!

Summer '11

This summer has flown by, but we have definitely had a good time! It seemed like we never had a day off and if we did, we found something fun to do. My kids are always better behaved if we stay super busy. When we got home from Oklahoma, we were so excited to just hang out with family and friends. And we did it all summer!

The boys love to swim so we set up the pool in our front yard and had a great time with cousins. Then we got to go to Pat's for an Oklahoma Girls Reunion and swam there too. The boys were so excited to see their Oklahoma girls!

Keyton and Seth both love to go to Bear Lake and we only got to do that twice this summer. I love going there and soaking up sun while the kids build castles and splash in the water. Makes me want to be a kid again!

I swore I was NOT going to let Keyton play Tee ball this year because of how HORRIBLE he was last year. (Not a horrible player, just a naughty little stink. That sounded bad) but he begged, I gave in, and threatened him with his life that he better behave this year. And I must say, he did SO GOOD. He was such a good hitter this year and won a hitting competition on his team. He took it serious but had fun too which made it much more enjoyable for mom.

Seth was a character as usual and enjoyed tagging along behind anything Keyton was doing. This summer he turned from a baby to a big boy and it breaks my heart. Where did my baby go?????

And of course 4th of July. We had never been to Soda for the 4th so we decided to go this year. It was a ton of fun. Between the parade, games, and fireworks my kids were in heaven!
It was a good time. The 4th might just be my favorite holiday.

We got to do a couple camping trips before we discovered the sub floor in our camper was rotten and falling out. But that's a whole other story. My boys love camping and bring home as much dirt as they can possibly fit in their pockets and socks, oh yeah and then slather it on their skin and clothes cause that wasn't enough! But I love it. Nothing cuter than dirty camping face!

So yeah, that was basically our summer in a nut shell. It was fun and now sadly, it's over. Keyton starts Kindergarten this week and i am having really mixed feelings about this. He is SO ready to go. But it's killing me that I won't be there every second of his life to witness it and control what he gets exposed to. I know it sounds crazy but I make myself sick thinking about the things he might learn out there. But I need to look at all the positive things he will learn too. So goodbye summer 2011. Hope everyone else's was as fabulous as ours!