Easter

This week we got to take the boys to the Easter Pageant & it was a really fun experience! They loved when the angles would dance & enjoyed seeing the scenes that are depicted in their sacrament book (the gospel picture book)! During the crucifixion scene Roman looked at me very concerned & said, "Why they do that to him?! He's a nice guy!" so I got the opportunity to explain to him that Jesus did it for us. It was a really special experience, but of course left my camera at home & didn't get any decent pictures!

I did better today, though :)! Today has been really nice! Eileen went to church with us (they came down from Show Low this weekend & we did an egg hunt/ picnic with all of Anthon's sibling's yesterday). She sat with the boys while Anthon & I sang with the choir. After church we took a few pictures, made dinner, & just hung out with family the rest of the afternoon. Here are a few of the pictures we got:

 

This one was taken before church, the rest were taken after. I LOVE the colors of their shirts & ties this year!

 Such handsome boys!

Spring break!!

This past week was my spring break- & oh my was it lovely!! Not that I did anything really special (Anthon worked every day, so we couldn't go anywhere), but just the fact that I didn't have to go to school made it fabulous! Here's a little recap of what we did:

FYI I've gotten really bad at taking pictures with just my cell phone, so the quality isn't wonderful... I'm working on busting out my nice camera more, though!!

MONDAY

We had a little campfire in our backyard for FHE & talked about all our Heavenly Father's creations that we're thankful for. 

TUESDAY

Got the boys hair cut, went to lunch, & played in the back yard.

 Sterling was in rare form at lunch (being a total goof ball) & I actually was able to capture it on camera!

While they were playing in the yard, the boys bonked heads (well, Sterling's head hit Roman's eye) and turned into a shiner- Roman's first!

 WEDNESDAY:

My 29th birthday!!

I spent the morning shopping with the boys for a birthday outfit, then met my mom at Joe's Farm Grill for a fabulous lunch, then came home, put the boys down for a nap, & went to my friend's house to get my hair curled.

 That night a group of about 20 of my family members met to go out to dinner. We originally wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse, but they weren't going to be able to seat us all together so we went across the way to Macaroni Grill & had a lovely dinner!!

I keep waiting for the "birthday depression" to set in each year, but it hasn't happened yet. I think it's because I'm genuinely happy with what I have & where I'm at in life. I'm ready to make the most of my last year in the 20's!!

 THURSDAY

We went with our friend (& old nanny!) Corinne & her little guy Kamden to the zoo. It was HOT- like 90º- while we were there, so these giant snow cones were necessary!

 FRIDAY

Since the temperature was rising, Corinne invited us to go swimming with her & Kamden at her apartment. IT was SO fun! The water was a little chilly when we first got it, but felt perfect after that! I was a little nervous that Roman would relapse with his swimming, but thankfully he picked up right where he left off last summer! Sterling, on the other hand, wasn't a fan of the water. Poor kid is so skinny he was shivering non-stop the whole time he was in it, so he spent most of the time sitting on the side, contently watching everyone else swim.

 SATURDAY & SUNDAY

Gwen & her family went to California for their spring break & stopped by for a couple nights! They stayed with us and we had family over both nights- it was so much fun! Saturday we just had pizza & salad and Sunday was St. Patrick's Day so we had the traditional corned beef with veggies. It worked out really well cause the kids were all outside playing the whole time while the adults just visited!

All in all, spring break was great!! Just what I needed to get rejuvenated for the next chunk of school! two more months in school, then I'll have 3 months off!!  Looking forward to my break this summer, that's for sure!!



Sunday!!!

 This semester has been a lot more time consuming/ stressful than last- I'm gone from home a lot more (at least it feels that way) and when I am home, it seems like the focus is on all the tasks to be done. Except for Sunday! Oh, how I love Sunday!! It's the only day each week (LITERALLY) that I get to just relax, spend time with my family, & reflect on everything I have to be thankful for!!

 Like this guy! I am SO thankful for him! He went to choir practice with me today & it meant so much to me! I love him & all the does to help me out with school, the house, the kids, my calling, basically every aspect of my life!

Or this guy! He is such a blessing to me! The biggest helper, so forgiving when I'm impatient with him, & always willing to show me how much he loves me!

 & this guy! Man, oh man- I adore this little tender mercy of mine! He doesn't smile for the camera much, but he always has a smile & big hug for me, and is always up for a snuggle! I LOVE that about him- I hope he never gets too big to cuddle with me!!

 I LOVE that I have one day a week to spend with these boys, uninterrupted by all the things that go on during a normal day (errands, homework, cleaning, etc.)

Just an entire day to watch, be present, & enjoy these 3 amazing guys in my life!! How could I not love Sunday?!

What's NEW with you?!

We've got some "new" things around here that we're pretty excited about!

First off, Roman got a bunk bed!! He was super excited when we set it all up in his room....

 but when we came home from our date that night, this is what we found:

 apparently, he wasn't committed to sleeping on the top bunk just yet. We're leaving Sterling in his crib for a little while longer since he does really well in there still & I'm not ready for the constant nighttime interruptions of training a toddler to sleep in a bed!

Onto Anthon... He finally got a bike.  I tolerate it, but he loves it & that's all that matters!

Sterling got a little play ground for the backyard. One of Anthon's customers gave it to him, so it's worn & faded from the sun, but Ster doesn't care!

As for me, I got a new hair do. I said goodbye to the all blond locks & went with the hombré! I'm really happy with how it turned out!!

Valentine's Day

Today has been very sweet & I certainly have felt the love of my family!

 It was Roman's first Valentine's exchange & he chose Avenger's valentine cards with ring pops to give to his classmates. It was so cute to watch him choose which cards would be for who & write his name on all of them!

 I wrote love notes for Anthon too! I left them all over the house & in his work truck so he could find them throughout the day :)

these pictures are from my cell phone, so sorry they aren't the best quality!

 We decided to take the boys with us on a valentine date. We went to PF Chang's & the only time we could get a reservation was for 3pm, so it was more of a family lunch date than anything else, but the food was amazing & we had a good time!

While we were at lunch, Roman gave us the valentine he made for us at school- melted my heart!! Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen!! I love everything about it- the sign language hand, his scribbley handwriting, & the fact that he signed it "Roman P." too!!

I couldn't have asked for a better Valentine's day!!

Fun with cousins

We got to go to the zoo today with my brother, Peter & his family. He has 3 girls, Ellie, Avery & Livvi, that are the same ages as my boys... & my boys LOVE them! So, it's always a good time when they get together!

Here's 3 of the little monkey's with a monkey

 We tried to get a picture of all of them together... this was the best we could get!

Carousel time!!

 Sterling

 Avery

 Ellie

 

 Roman

I didn't get a picture of Livvi, but they all had a great time! We love having cousins so close!!

Let them be little...

Last week we got a TON of rain!! I'm usually not one to encourage my boys to be messy, but for some reason the pouring rain & giant puddles softened my heart. I asked Roman if he'd like to go out & play in it... of course he didn't need a second invitation!

 

 I thoroughly enjoyed watching him run, jump, splash, & catch the rain drops!! While watching him the thought came to me, "Let them be little" & it was a total eye opener for me! I've been so caught up with school & my responsibilities at home that I've been over looking opportunities for the little things that are the best when you're a kid! I decided right then and there to let my boys be little- messes clean up, dirt/ mud wash out, bumps/bruises/scrapes heal but they will only be small for a moment & I don't want to regret any time/ experiences lost!

So the next day we went for a walk to deliver some goodies to a couple ladies I visit teach. The rain had stopped, but there were deep, dirty puddles everywhere... Roman approached one and glanced over at my with that little mischievous grin he gets on his face when he's thinking of doing something he knows I'll disapprove of. For a second, I was ready to threaten him not to even think about it, then the thought "Let them be little" came back to my mind... so I just smiled back at him & said, "Jump in, Bud!" You'd think I just told him he had won the lottery with how excited he got!! & boy did jump... in every puddle on the way home! He was filthy & drenched, but completely happy!

It certainly is the little things in life that bring the greatest joy- for Roman it was giant, dirty rain puddles. For me, it was watching the joy spread on my child's face as he played like only a little boy can!

Monster Jam- Birthday tradition!

Anthon started taking Roman to Monster Jam when he was 2 & continued the tradition this year. Roman was SO excited to go & kept talking about it for weeks (He got the tickets & shirt on his birthday, but the actual event wasn't for another couple of weeks). When  yesterday finally came he was more than thrilled!!

 Here he is playing with his toy monster truck while waiting to see the real trucks down in the pits

He & his cousins got to get into a real monster truck, too!!

So excited to be here!!

  Daddy got to write him a message up on the big jumbo tron!

 They love this guy time together...& I love that I'm not invited ;)

 Here's a couple of his favorite trucks doing some tricks! Big Kahuna is on top, Grave Digger is below.

Haha- I loved this shot of him! Sums him up in a nut shell!

I'm sorry, but we're awesome!

Warning: total bragging post ahead!

Anthon is amazing! He seriously accomplishes anything he puts his mind to! This past year, he decided he wanted to be the #1 salesman in his company, & guess what?! He did it! It was a close call- there was another guy in his branch that was ahead of him by 1, but Anthon got a few sales at the end of December & took the lead (with some help from me, I'll add)!! They had a tech meeting this morning to recognize him & give him a huge check, which was kind of fun! He also got a branch new work truck that's really nice! He was the #1 salesman for his branch & the #3 salesman out of the entire company (like 4 states)!! I am SO proud of him!! There seriously is nothing this man can't do!

I'm not as awesome as Anthon ;), but I did start my second block of nursing school this past week & have been having a blast learning how to start IVs & draw blood! I've gotten pretty good at it on the dummies, but we'll see how I do on real people (dummies hold completely still & have perfect veins!)-I start clinical in a month & am going to be at Chandler Regional Hospital... can't wait!