A little bit of summer fun

I'm starting to notice Roman getting bored. How? because he does naughty things! For example:

Coloring on his & Sterling's faces! But, I couldn't really get mad because he was so excited to show me what he had done & exclaimed, "Look mom! We're like clowns in the circus!"

Or emptying his entire closet! This was NOT funny, & I did get mad, but I had the perfect punishment for the crime... I made him clean it all up, ALL BY HIMSELF!

Granted, I had to sit in the room & direct him step-by-step, and it took him several hours, but he did it! I think the message sank in, too because he kept saying, "Mom, I not ever gonna do this again! This is so totally hard work!"

 After he started getting so stir crazy/ mischievous at home, we decided we should probably take them to go do something fun! So we spent a day at Basha pool- We've also gone to the library a few times & that helped with the boredom!

 We're leaving on vacation tomorrow, so hopefully he can stay out of boredom induced trouble for a while ;)

Fishing!

Roman has been on a fishing kick lately- he pretends to fish all over the house & has been dying to go for real! Thankfully, Anthon's friend, Justin, is an avid fisherman, so we had a family home evening together & went fishing! We just went to a local man-made lake where they stock the fish, hoping that Roman could catch something (because honestly, how boring is fishing if you don't catch anything?!)

 And boy, did he ever catch something! All the little boys caught a ton of fish & had a blast doing it!! I had fun just watching how excited they would get, sitting in the cool grass, & chatting with Corinne. It was the perfect night for everyone!

 

 Here are the daddy's with their little boys & fish!

It was such a fun night, watching the boys make childhood memories!! I'm pretty sure this is going to become a fun family tradition for us!

Summer is here!

Today was Roman's last day of preschool, and yesterday they put on a special program for us- it was DARLING! They sang 4 songs, played a song with bells, and each said a little line. This song was my favorite! Roman sings it all the time at home, but today was the first time hearing it for real- it brought tears to my eyes!! So sweet!

 

his class. the little boy on the front row, left side is the other Roman in his class. They're pretty good buddies!

Roman saying his part! He said, "Here is a strong snap dragon- As big, and as brave as Dad!"

 Roman with his teacher, Miss Arlene. She's amazing!!


I'm so proud of my boy! He has learned so much this year- he can write his name, count to 20, knows the days of the week, months of the year, and all the colors & shapes. He's learned the Pledge of Allegiance, a ton of cute songs/ poems, and has made the cutest projects that will probably turn me into a pack rat because I don't know how I'll ever be able to throw any of it away! Roman is such a smart boy & I can't wait to see how much he learns in his next year of preschool.... but until then, I'm going to enjoy our summer off together!!

PS- In other, not so happy, news the turtle has been missing for probably 3 weeks now- the boys some how lost him in the back yard. Well, today we found him... dead :(. He was in the trunk of Sterling's tricycle & the poor thing must have cooked to death! Ster's always hiding his favorite things in there, too bad the turtle was one of his favorite things!! And too bad we didn't think to look in there!! I think we're going to steer clear of the pets for a while!

Mother's Day

 It's been a lovely day! I've been able to enjoy my children & reflect on what a blessing it is to be a mother. We did our typical Sunday morning routine- got ready for church and Anthon & the boys made me some really sweet cards! I was SO excited for Roman to sing at church with the primary for the first time, but that didn't work out so well :(. He refused to even go up to the stage, so Anthon went up there with him but he didn't sing... he just cried the whole time! Ah, such is life with toddlers, I guess. They're unpredictable & won't do anything they don't want to do! There's always next year (& every year after that until he turns 12!) to hear him sing mother's day songs to me in sacrament.

Mom Had surgery this past week to repair her left hip& it went really well! It wasn't nearly as extensive of a procedure as they were anticipating & she's recovering really fast! We went to visit her this evening & she was so happy to see all of us! I'm really lucky to have such a great example of patience & faith unwavering for a mother!!

I don't ever want to forget how grateful I feel today to be a mother! It's such a noble calling, & I'm humbled to think how much the Lord trusts me to allow me to care for 2 of his tender little spirits! Next to being Anthon's wife, being a mom is the best part of my life!



Under the sea birthday party!!

Yesterday was Sterling's birthday party & it was a LOT of fun!! We kept it pretty simple- ate lunch, played outside in the water, opened presents, & had cupcakes.
Here's all the "kid food"

Octo-dogs. Sterling thought they were super cool!

Fruit beach balls

 Snacks- Cheese balls, fruit puffs, & goldfish

 Sterling was so excited when he saw his cupcakes! I realized with Roman's birthday party that buying the cupcakes was SO much easier than trying to make them or a cake myself! They bake & frost them perfectly, and all I have to do is add a little decorations & a candle :)

 The magnet board with all his pictures on it over the last 2 years and party favors for his guests. We gave them a little sand bucket with a shovel, rake, beach ball, sun glasses, & shark fruit snacks. They were a hit!

 After lunch, we moved the party outside! We had the slide into the pool for the older kids, a inflatable splash pad for the toddlers (which they all hated!), water balloons, side walk chalk, & bubbles. The weather was perfect- Not too hot for us parents, but not to cold for the kids to play in the water!

 Some of the party-goers :) Kelly with Livvi and Michele with baby Ryan and Grant.

 Grant loving the bubble machine

 Here they are singing "Happy Birthday" to Sterling... he loved it!

 Cup cake & present time!! He was a fan of the cupcakes and loved opening his present!

He got some fun Lego's, a fast car, some water toys, and some motorcycles (his favorite!)
It was such a fun day & I'm glad Sterling had a good time! He's such a sweet kid & I'm so thankful he's mine!!

The BEST day in a LONG time!!

Today was awesome for 2 reasons!

 1) Anthon & I finished school today &

2) It's Sterling's birthday!!

Time to elaborate on these events!!

1) We survived the semester!!!

This was us last week.

This is us today.

Needless to say, we're pretty relieved that this semester is over- it has been a douzey!! But, even though it was extremely tough, we were blessed SO much!! I know the Lord was helping us every step of the way- we were more organized than we've ever been and were able to figure out the balance between all our commitments so we didn't feel like we were slacking in any area. Oh & did I mention we both got A's?!?! Yes, I got an A in the hardest semester of nursing school!! & yes, Anthon got 4 A's- count 'em, 4!- while working & picking up my slack around the house! Oh yes, the Lord blessed us!! It truly is a miracle & there's no way we can take the credit for it... we can only express our gratitude- it's all because of His tender goodness!! We are SO thankful!!!

 2) Sterling turned 2!!!  

 Last night, Anthon & I carried out our birthday tradition & decorated Sterling's bed. He was so cute when he woke up & saw all the balloons! He just kept, "Ooo-ing" and saying "Balloon!" while pointing to them!

Of course, Anthon & I had to go to school & take our finals, but once we were finished we took him to do a couple fun birthday things.

First we took him to Krispy Kreme to get a birthday donut.

 Then, we took him to the mall to ride the carousel.

His actual birthday party isn't until this Saturday, but we had planned to have Mom come over for dinner, cake, & ice cream. It turned out that most of Anthon's family were down here today, but were going home before Saturday so they all came over to party with us. It was a full house & SO much fun!! I attempted to make him a cute birthday cake, but it wasn't as cute as I had hoped! 

 Thankfully, Sterling didn't care!

He got so many fun presents and was so adorable to watch open them!  

 

 

We are SO thankful for this sweet, special little boy! He has all 3 of us wrapped around his finger and our family would not be complete with out him!! Heavenly Father was so incredibly kind to bless us with Sterling and celebrating his birthday was the perfect way to be reminded of just how many blessing we have!!!

Today has been SUCH a good day!!

 We are truly blessed!!

 

Goal met

My heart is full. I set a goal at the beginning of this semester. The goal was to read one non-nursing book. More specifically, to read The Book of Mormon by the end of the semester. I'm happy to report that today I accomplished that goal!

I cannot even begin to tell you how much this goal has blessed my life!! Most people who pass nursing school say block 2 is the hardest. Most people who end up repeating a block, repeat block 2. It's tough- the content & course requirements are HARD!! But it doesn't matter. "... If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me." I had faith that Heavenly Father would bless me get through this block, and I asked Him for help ALL THE TIME!! Not just with school, with every aspect of my life- my kids, my calling, my house, my marriage, my health... & He delivered! "Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you." I KNOW that promise is true! I KNOW God hears my prayers & answers them with perfect timing, in better ways than I could ever imagine! I feel so blessed from working toward this goal- almost unworthy of all the blessings I've received. All I've done is ask for what I've needed & believed that He'd help me, and I've been given SO much! Last semester, my goal was to not study on Sunday. I kept that goal last semester, carried it thru this semester, and know that I was given blessings because of my faith, but they seemed more specifically toward my academics. Reading The Book of Mormon this semester has blessed EVERY aspect of my life! It has strengthened my testimony so much!
 I know my Heavenly Father knows me! He knows my concerns, my weaknesses, my strengths. He knows what is best for me, He wants me to be happy, and all I have to do is ask Him. I asked... a LOT... this semester, & I am so happy I can't find sufficient words!