Oh the Places He'll Go!

Saturday was quite a big day for my first born. He is an official preschool graduate. Yes, this may seem like de-ja-vu considering the fact that he graduated from preschool last year too, but this time it is for real! His birthday is in July so we decided to hold him back so that he wouldn't be one of the youngest kids in his class, which means, bonus, two years of graduations! This year he got to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. He had been excited about that for weeks. The night before his graduation he was supposed to be in bed asleep when he came out to the living room in a near panic and said, "Mom, I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you this, we CANNOT be late! Just think of it, I would have to walk up to the stage in front of all those people! We just can't be late." Well, at that point he had me convinced so we made it on time.

We are so lucky to have such a supportive family. I think Luke had 15 people there to support him. Here he is with Grandma Connie and Bampa.

Here he is with his cute little Grandma Ivers

Here is our happy family!

Luke and his teacher, Mrs. Jenni. Not only is she adorable, she is a phenomenal teacher. I would highly recommend her to anybody!

It's sad to say, but even though preschool graduation was only two days ago, he has already moved on to bigger and better things. Today he woke up and decided his fate, he has assigned himself the title "The Mad Scientist." He has even already recruited an assistant, the assistant is insistent upon receiving no title, he is "Just Tanner." I would like you to take not of the pile of weeds on the table. They have been "harvesting corn" from the field next door for the past few days. I had no idea the intent was to use the "corn" in their top secret experiments.



What good is a mad scientist without his trusty safety goggles?

Unfortunately his assistant, "Just Tanner" was only allowed safety glasses.

Here are our two newest family members. C.K. and Piggero. Luke's kitty is C.K. which stands for Cute Killer. We are hoping that the kitties will turn into mouse killing machines, but they were way to cute to be thought of as strictly killers, so he decide to soften the harsh name by throwing "cute" in front of it. Tanner's kitty started out as "Bobby." She kept that name for about a week until Tanner watched Pinocchio and decided that Piggero was much better.

Now, as far as my rut situation goes, I have been unrutted. Launey opened his pizza place up again, which has oddly helped my situation. He is so good at picking up the pieces that I drop that I think I allowed myself to become a little complacent with life. Now that he is busy working there, I have been forced to climb out of the rut and get my act together. He isn't there to pick up my slack, so I know that I need to do it. I do miss him not being around as much, I mean I really miss him, but in a way it has been good for both of us.

The other thing that has been so helpful is obviously the Savior, my loving Heavenly Father, and the words of our great leaders in this month's Ensign. I am sure you know it is the conference issue and it is amazing how re-reading the talks has helped me. Every talk I read has something that I specifically need to hear. Anyway, I really do feel so blessed.

Besides how could I have not gotten out of it with cuties like this running around!

What a little Diva!!

When Did That Bunny Hop Down the Bunny Trail?

Yes, I know I am a slacker, but instead of slacking completely, I am positng a few pictures of some of our Easter excursions. I know it was over a month ago, but you know how the saying goes, better late than never!

Here is sweet little Brielle, she actually stood still for two seconds so I could take a picture of her in her Easter Gown.



The day before Easter we went to my mom and dad's house to color some eggs. This event demonstrated perfectly the contrast between my two boys. I love them each for their own unique personalities!




Notice how concentrated Luke seems to be, he is the serious one who over-thinks things and takes his time getting things done just the way he wants it. He is a very smart little guy.


Here is one of his finished eggs.



Then there's Tanner. He is a little fireball! This kid is built of sheer emotion. He goes more for the quantity over quality approach. He keeps us on our toes, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't have a good laugh thanks to him.

Here is his finsihed project. Notice the creativity and attention to detail! Each egg has it's own unique attributes! (incase it is hard to detect, try to sense my sarcasim).

This is the end result. Notice the seemingly dominating blue eggs.

Here a few bonus pictures that I haven't posted. There is just something about a happy baby and white sheets!

Tanner had a little meeting with the sidewalk in the middle of an intense race with his big brother. I thought he ended up with a pretty awesome trophy, some killer road rash that is sure to make all the ladies think he is one tough son of a gun. (wait a minute, am I calling myself a gun, and is that a good thing or a bad thing?)

Help. . .I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!

I am in a huge ginormo RUT! I don't know if you have ever been here before. This place where motivation to do laundry, eat healthy, and conduct myself in a cheerful manner is hard to come by. The place where being grumpy is the norm without a real reason for being grumpy. That is where I am, I feel it, my kids feel it, and I am sure my poor husband feels it too.
I know I have a lot to be thankful for, I really do. When I think about it logically, there is no reason I shouldn't be bouncing with every step I take from pure joy and rejoicing for the blessings I have. I am just stuck in this rut. It is an uncomfortable place that I would like to get out of soon. If anybody has suggestions on how to do that, I am open.
Once I do climb out of this place I have fallen into, I will take pictures of how adorable my children are with our two new kitties, cute killer (ck), and bobby. Yes the kids picked out the names. And once I have taken the adorable pictures, I will post them. While I am posting those pictures, I may even post previous pictures that I never got around to posting. Some include our trip to the dino museum with Pooper, our first trip to Disneyland with just our family (it was a great surprise for the kids which we pulled off with miraculous success), I may even post about Easter. That is once I climb out of this place!
Here is just a side note, I am not clinically depressed, I don't need any form of medication, I just need a little fire under my booty. I will get there. . . hopefully sooner than later.

The Need to Create

My cute mom posted this video on her blog, which you can view here, and I loved it. I decided to share it with those of you who haven't seen it yet. I totally agree with President Uchtdorf. I love creating things, whether it is a nice steaming pot of macaroni and cheese for my family, or a quilted table topper for my home. There is something special about creating something that wasn't there before. I have to say my best creations are these. . .

But I also love to do a bit of graphic designing. So, I have started ANOTHER blog to keep all of my projects on it. They take up way too much space on my computer but I hate just trashing them. If you want to check it out, feel free, just click this.

Now go on, create something new, perhaps one of these

Or even a little of this would be just fine too!

Thank You!

I am so thankful for my beautiful healthy family! I have been reading this. . . ugh. I just want to thank Heavenly Father again, because I can't do it enough, for every breath that they breathe, and every beat their hearts beat. Thank You.

TagGeD

I was TaGGeD by Misty!
1. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
2. Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog.
3. List 10 honest things about yourself.

1. I am so NOT a clean freak! I bothers me when my house is messy and it is usually always tidy, but when it comes to the stuff like baseboard cleaning and behind the computer dusting I have to make myself set a day aside to get it done.

2. I am ultra paranoid! When things are going really well in my life I have a hard time enjoying it because I am just so sure that there is going to be a major trial around the bend. I hate feeling that way, and I am constantly praying that I can enjoy the good times instead of going nuts thinking that things are too good. I almost do better in the midst of small trials because when I facing them I think, "this is ok, I can get through this and learn from it." I think I am completely nuts!

3. I LOVE having my husband work from home. Launey and I are BEST friends and there is nobody else in the world I would rather spend time with. Most women cringe at the thought of their husbands being home with them but I really do love everything about it. He is really good at letting me do my thing, and he helps with the kids and the housework. I think sometimes it drives him nuts being home so often, but as for me, I wouldn't have it any other way.

4. Speaking of my husband helping me around the house. . . I have basically retired from laundry duties and he has taken them over. See what I mean about things being too good!

5. I yell at my kids. Not all the time but I have been known to loose my cool every-once-in-a-while and yell at them to stop beating each other up or jumping on the couch. I am SO not perfect and hopefully someday I can be one of those constantly soft-spoken tender hearted mothers that everybody dreams of.

6. I love my calling. I am the 2nd counselor in the YW Presidency and I LOVE it. It is so fun getting to know the girls and being involved in a small part of their lives. I feel totally in my element when I at at Young Women's. Maybe that is a bad sign. . .

7. I try to exercise 6 times a week and I HATE running! I have been doing weights three times a week and cardio the other three. To keep myself motivated I decided that I would start training for a half marathon, but I HATE RUNNING! I dread my cardio days and I am so tempted to stop my "training" and switch up the cardio routine. In fact, I am posting this right now because I am stalling on my daily run.

8. I think my kids are about the cutest things I have ever seen. I know that every mother feels the same way about their own kids, but sometimes I do just look at them and think, "how in the world did I get so lucky." I guess the better term would be blessed.

9. I am loosing a little blogging steam. I still love reading blogs but I am terrible at commenting on them. I think I go through phases.

10. I have been trying to think of seven people to tag this entire time and now the time has come to an end, I am still not sure who it's going to be!

Okay, I will shoot from the hip, I tag. . . . Alisha N., Lynsey, Linzy, Morgan, Tara, Jennifer, and Natasha. You lucky girls!!

The Happiest (and wettest) Place on Earth. . .Revisited!

I may have mentioned it before, but Launey and I are Disneyland annual passport holders. We love the place! So, in order to get the most out of our annual pass purchase, we loaded up the family and took yet another trip to the most magical place on earth. This time we were accompanied by a whole bunch of my great family members. My parents, Karson, Linzy, Kylee, Conner, Pooper, Papa, Grandma Red, my Uncle Mike and his family, Uncle David, and my Aunt RaNae and her family all came along.

Aren't my men INCREDIBLE!!

It was nearly the perfect scenario, less expensive hotels, and escape from our cold Utah winter, less crowded, and tons of family, but there was only one thing, it rained the ENTIRE time! We actually saw it coming, (well kind of) before we left because everyday up until our trip was sunny and hot, and everyday after our trip the same hot weather returned, but on the only three days we were to be there, the little forecast showed dark clouds, thunderbolts, and several raindrops.

I think his little face just says it all!

I was a bit worried about the weather before we left so I convinced my husband to go a day early so we could soak up a little bit of sun. Luckily my sister and Grandma Red agreed to come along so they could help with the kids. The day we got there, a day before the rest of the crew, was glorious. It was eighty degrees and the crowds were few. I just wish the weather would have continued a little longer.

This Disney princess was quite the trooper!

But in all honesty, it was a great trip. The kids were such troopers and they didn't seem to mind having to wear ponchos and wet shoes. They just loved being there. Tanner could ride the "big rides" and he loved them all except the Tower of Terror. We managed to talk him into riding it twice but after the second go-round he would have nothing to do with it. Luke even got to go on the big roller coaster, "California Screamin," in California Adventure Park. He loved it but he only got the go ahead twice out of the five times we attempted the ride. His height was right on the border and apparently some workers were just more lenient than others.

Splash Mountain broke down so we had to walk out, I am willing to bet not many people have a picture like this!

Brielle loved the rides she could ride and she got to spend a lot of quality one-on-one time with some of the characters. They took refuge from the rain in the same building that we did while we were waiting for the rest of the clan to ride the Tower of Terror, and there were no lines to visit with them, so they played with Brielle. It was really cute. She was a bit hesitant but she did manage to give a few kisses on their big shiny noses.

I wish this picture was brighter but I still think it's priceless

The boys didn't let a little rain stand in the way of having a great time

Man, just writing about it makes me yearn to go back. Maybe I will hop on Trip Advisor and start planning our next visit!

We were just pumping ourselves up for the big plunge