Back to life

Well vacation time is over. And it is back to life; school, work, bills, homework, chores, drop offs and pick ups, nap times, bedtimes, and routines.

I can't lie, I have SO missed our ROUTINE! And getting back into it is not easy. While we have been struggling with that, we have also been enjoying the comfort of home again.

Playing Star Wars battles...

Stubbornly refusing to come inside, get shoes tied, or leave sister at pre-school...

Back to chores (his nightly dish chore, lightens the Mom load and I am SO SO SO GRATEFUL)...

Watching cartoons in Mom and Dad's bed AFTER bedtime...

Doing nails...

Getting spoiled...

Styling...

Starting the year with an FHE weekly goal...

Matching PJ's, Bella was SO PROUD!

Switching bedrooms around and they helped set them up the way they wanted!

It has been a bit of a struggle recovering from vacation, but we are back into the routines now and it feels so good. 

Sunbeam

Jesus wants me for a SUNBEAM.

Well guess who is the newest (and very reluctant) SUNBEAM...

SYDNEY!

It has been quite the fight getting her to go to Sunbeams, she begs to go to nursery with Piper every week. (And Piper is just starting to realize a few weeks late that Nursery is a little different, so she is suffering a little with the transition as well.)

So for now we cry, scream, and wait it out in the hallways till we can bribe her to go. (And sometimes her sister joins us...)

It sure is making Sundays all the funner...

Maybe we will get a picture of her happily in sunbeams, one day... but I don t see that happening soon. For now I drop and run. If she doesn't hang on with the death grip and starts screaming then I count it as a success and let her teachers deal with the tears. You'd think having her siblings and Grandparents (my parents teach the CTR 4) there would help... and well some days it does. (but lets face it STUBBORN TO THE MAX.)

{this moment}

As I watch The Great British Baking Show (my total obsession for the last year) Piper sneaks over looks right at me. 2 inches from my face with a big ole' smile. Since I’m sitting on the floor which I don’t normally do she apparently thinks it is totally strange. It was a freezing morning though and my feet were icicles and lets be honest I was way too lazy to go get my socks. So there I sat. And as Piper pondering, staring and smirking at me. She finally decided what to do and plops right down in my lap facing me, making sure to give me a great big hug and leaning her head on my shoulder for a second before she hops back up giving me a kiss goodbye. Then she proceeds to repeat the stare, ponder, smirk, plop, hug, head rest, hop up, kiss; over and over and over again.

Just smelling her and hugging her with that big ole grin and did I mention the whole time she wanted her favorite pink blankie wrapped around her shoulders, it was a precious moment. And it made my heart swell. Taking it all in wishing time could stop so I could live in these moments!

Front teeth

Well one night while climbing onto Mom and Dad's bed she hit her front teeth hard, I made a dentist appt for her the next day and right after I got off the phone she jumped from the couch to the play slide and hit them again. If I wasn't for sure one or both were coming out after the first incident I was certain after incident two.

So off to the dentist we went expecting it to be checked and taken out another day. But the Dentist was the sweetest lady and Sydney was taken with her, and after the X-rays showed her roots were fractured, they immediately decided on extracting them. It was all quick and kind of a lot with all 4 kids in tow. My Mama heart was sinking and a little broken over the whole thing but with all the kids in tow I held strong; and my BRAVE girl was AMAZING! Through X-rays and having to have her teeth pulled all by herself (with all the kids there I couldn't be with her) she was amazing through it all and impressed everyone there. The Dentist said she didn't cry, and only got nervous waiting for me to come back after it was all done. I can't say I have ever been more grateful for this strong spirited girl then right in these moments when her brave heart kept everyone else's together. The other kids were so worried for her and borderline emotional but she was as happy as ever and although nervous was as smiley and strong as always.

Picking Prizes with some help...

Afterwards she was a little anxious about the gauze in her mouth but before long was enjoying lots of cold treats and she even got spoiled by a day with Nana. 

Nothing phases her...

Showing off her missing teeth and her contagious smiles!

She is so proud of her early tooth fairy visit awaiting her!

She is a champ and so unbelievably brave. She didn’t shed a tear or cry over the whole thing once. And if I didn’t quite believe it with her slammed pinkie, or broken collarbone, I sure believe it now; she is one tough girl! Watch out world, SYDNEY is one mighty girl!

Family

When you sit down to relax for a second and turn on your phone, and you suddenly can barely see the screen...  Thanks for the reminder girls.
Motherhood = No breaks!

And also thanks for reminding me about the important things in life.

"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time."

Neal A Maxwell

The world has a way of making immorality alluring, truth depressing, loyalty confining, youthfulness sinfulness and family forgotten. The world never stops to appreciate or even acknowledge the home. But I hope our children will always seek comfort in our arms, laughter in our home and truth in our teachings, morality in our decisions, loyalty in our affections, honesty in our actions, innocence in our youth, and family as divine. 

Coming Home

Goodbyes are never easy.

None of us were really excited to go back to real life. School, work, cleaning, cooking, bills... well you get the point vacation is always hard to end. 

With teary eyed goodbyes were said and we made it home safe and sound. 

Now the real trick is trying to get the kids back into the routines of daily life and CHORES!

And not surprisingly Shea is suffering from homesickness majorly. 

The fun thing about it all, is really feeling good about our decision to move back west in a few years. 

And opening up to the idea of maybe living in Utah in the future.

Bella took it all the worst.

Good thing she has an awesome big brother
that did his best to comfort her.

Fortunately overpriced chips cheered everyone up!

Vegas

The flights weren't easy but we made it... 

And as always the kids struggled to sleep for the next few days, missing everyone. 

But we even made it through that, with extra snuggles and promises of fun times ahead. 

Distraction is my best friend. 

***And in terms of Connor and school and all my worries Connor's hard work paid off. His teacher was so IMPRESSED! According to his teacher she said "Connor did you read everyday?" for which he rolled his eyes and said "My MOM made me READ EVERY SINGLE DAY!" And man it paid off he actually made improvements instead of getting even farther behind like she assumed he would. What a relief, that was to hear. Yay! 

Just like the old days

Shea and I have had a bit of time while here in Idaho to sneak away and enjoy some moments just us.

Our favorite was getting to do an endowment and sealings at the Rexburg Temple, the temple we saw built and were married in and was our home temple for many years as we started out.

We also have enjoyed driving around seeing how this little town has changed so much. We even got a chance to go out on a date night. It didn't go exactly as planned since most of our old hot spots were closed; but we did have fun driving to all our homes. Oh the memories.

College Avenue Apts #206

(Our very first apt, but for only a few months.)

College Avenue Apts #312

(Lived here for a year and it was rough, with a hole in the window and no dishwasher and overall just a mess. We originally switched apts because we were promised a manager spot and managers get priority for apt renovations so we picked the biggest one, unfortunately we didn't get the manager spot and were stuck with just a scary apt)

College Avenue was always a bit scary...
mental note never let your husband
  pick your first place.

 The Village, Pioneer Rd #8204

(Our favorite complex, but they raised the prices after one year; Connor's first home.)

Raspberry Gardens #12

(Brand new construction and hilarious management, lived here for a year. Bella's first home. Best location ever! I loved being next to the park (daily splash park visits) and surprisingly the railroad tracks, we went on so many walks while we were here. I especially remember walking to Broulim's and campus to meet my brother or Shea everyday at the end of my pregnancy. Which apparently all the walking truly helped!)

Hyde Park #4001

(Lived here for a little over 2 years and Sydney's first home. I always wished we lived here from the beginning it was affordable and met all our needs and the location was nice. And there were always kids to play with, even if everyone thought we were crazy for having three kids in a tiny 2 bedroom apt. But it was awesome!)

Family Pictures

We feel pretty lucky that while we were in Idaho Uncle Howie was able to take family pictures for us. They came out pretty awesome and we were so excited to be able to get such precious little moments.