Back on track!!!

I am pretty much back to normal from the awesome adventure of flying United. I love being back with my kids! I dove right back into the groove of things with summer fun in the rain and swim lessons. The kids are doing so good with their swim lessons. Thomas is a little fish and loves swimming! It is fun to watch them. Brynnley wants to join in so we will be doing a family swim night soon!

Tonight we played hide and seek(the kids favorite) and Thomas said, "Mom your not hiding that good because I always see your hair." Guess I gotta work on my hiding skills. I am loving my little 4 year old boy! He is so dang cute. He came downstairs yesterday and said, "Mom I helped you out by cutting my hair because it is getting long." Luckily it was a chunk that is hidden. I actually couldn't find it for awhile. I thought Brynnley would do something like that before he did. I told him he had a little hole in his hair and now he is so concerned about it and asks if it's better every day. I don't think he will be doing that again! Cutting scissors are not in reach!

Yesterday Thomas said, "Mom I am making dinner for us." He was pretty proud of himself. He had all sorts of kitchen gadgets creating a dish of noodles over noodles. It was delish!

Brynn was trying to help too but as you can see, she just helped create a mess. Well I guess Thomas did too but his was confined to the table. Hey as long as you are all having a great time I don't mind all the messes I get to clean up. After all, I have nothing better to do besides pack, do laundry, make dinner, vacuum, dust, pack.........not much!

I have learned to let many things go.

Avery has always been my little helper and Thomas is following in her footsteps. In fact Thomas was upstairs last night and was gone for awhile(Avery was at the neighbors house) so I was wondering what he was up to so I yelled upstairs and asked what he was doing. He yelled back, "Mom I am just cleaning my room."

Today residency is over kids! Your Dad is no longer a resident! June 23rd 2011. I am so proud of him! He loves you so much. You most likely will not remember this sacrifice but I know he got through it with you in mind. he loves his kids so much. I love seeing him come home from work(sometimes so exhausted he could sleep walk to the couch) yet he always had a smile on his face to greet you or would even come home to take you to the park or play hide and seek. You are lucky to have such a Dad. He has created a great future for you.

We have been so blessed. We owe everything to God. We have and are nothing without him!

How can the best weekend ever with my 6 siblings end in a nightmare........here's how......

For Fathers Day weekend all 7 children surprised my Dad for Fathers Day. It has been 23 years since we were together without kids and spouses. We love having everyone together at our reunions, but we had so much fun just the 7 of us with Mom and Dad just like the good ole days.

Half of us were already in Denver and the rest of us flew in Friday afternoon. We each had a yellow smiley balloon and stood on the back porch while Mom made up some story and brought him downstairs where she drew back the curtain and there we were. He was so surprised. I had just seen hi on skype the night before so he couldn't believe I was there.

We had a great weekend and were busy every second. We all went to the temple for the first time doing a session together. It was awesome! We went to a Rockies game, ate, laughed a lot reminiscing, mastered Jon's salsa, played games, shopped a little, ate some more and stayed up really late. I love my family and am so blessed to have grown up with such amazing siblings and raised by the best parents in the world. A weekend I will never forget.

One other reason why I won't ever forget it is the travels home. Here are a list of things that happened so I don't get too wordy. I really don't want t re live it by going into detail:)....It all began at 9:20pm......
1. Flight was super cold...I thought it was great I was in the front of a very small plane by myself...I was wrong.
2. Flight attendant was hitting on me the entire time even knowing I was married with 3 kids. He pulled up a box and chatted 2 hours. I am too nice. Didn't sleep at all. Positive note, he thought I was in my 20's and was surprised I was 32. Maybe that is why I let him talk to me.
3. Oh other positive note....ever seen a thunder storm underneath you while on a plane....Awesome!
4. After being 50ft from the ground in Madison the plane came back up and announced we were heading to Chicago due to fog and storms.
5. Bumpy plane....ready to release anything in my stomach at any moment.
6. Airport empty. Waited 30min. to get my carry on luggage when someone finally came to help.
7. Waited another 30 min. in line to be told there would not be a plane going out until the next day late in the day.
8. It is now 2am
9. Got to Hilton to try and sleep for an hour before I have to catch the bus to take me to Madison at 6am. Couldn't sleep due to over exhaustion and nausea.(keep in mind one night I went to bed at 3am, the other at 1am with the fam....Carol and I are always the last ones to bed)and despite what the fight attendant thought, I am not 20 anymore.
10. 3 hour bus ride to Madison
11. A group of us waiting for a cab for 45min. to take us to the airport to pick up our cars.
12. Is there sand in my eyes....they are sooo dry!
13. Been nauseated for days after that night and my eyes are still burning:)

Left Denver at 9:30pm on Sunday.....arrived home at 11am on Monday. Could have been worse.

And that was my amazing night. Bless my husband who was ready to pack the kids in the car at 2am to come and get me(he would have traveled 5 hours leaving at 2am). He was getting things ready and I had to talk him into not doing that. I'm a lucky chick!

Thanks to Marquez family for taking care of the kids until I got home so Eric could go to work.

When all is said and done I would do it all over again! The weekend with my fam was all worth it! I love you all!!

Thanks to my sweet husband for holding down the fort and taking such great care of the kids. I love you! I will make up for the not so relaxing fathers day this weekend!

Tomorrow is our last day of residency!! I can't believe it. Pinch me now. Where did 5 years go!?!I couldn't be more proud of you Eric! I'm not sure how you have balanced residency, church and family, but you did. I know you pretty much didn't do anything for yourself. Thank you for all you sacrifice for your family. We know you love us. Your kids love and adore you and I love you more then ever!!

Thomas's 4th birthday!!!

The finally came and it's official...Thomas is 4. He is a little disappointed that he isn't 5. He thought at his friend party because it was the third time we celebrated his birthday that maybe he was 5. Don't grown up too fast bud!

Eric and I take turns taking the birthday child on a birthday date. It was Thomas's turn and he picked Dad for his date. Of course Eric came home with a toy they could both enjoy and the battle began. Thomas loved chasing his Dad around with the nerf gun. He had a great day.

Thomas was so excited to celebrate with his best buddies at the park. They ate pizza and played their hearts out. It was a beautiful day! He was in heaven!

So three parties(One with the Grandparent when they were here, one with the fam/Dad, and it ended with his buddies). I am tired now but it was well worth it. He in one happy boy and that's what makes it worth it.

There is beauty all around....when there's love at home........

My favorite thing to do is to be home with my family. We had a great weekend doing just that. Sometimes I have to just stop the busyness of life to become a kid again. My kids love playing hide-n-seek and this week it made me feel like a kid again. I loved counting while Thomas pretty much hide in the same spot. It's also fun to hide in the closet and scare Thomas half to death when he enters. They get the biggest kick out of that.

On Friday morning I was busy getting some things done when I realized Thomas and Avery had been quiet upstairs for quite sometime. I went upstairs and found them playing house. They were so cute. I love the relationship they have. They are always looking out for each other. I am amazed how they rarely seem to get tired of each other. They have moments when one of them is bugged but they seem to get over it pretty quick and are off playing again. I hope they stay close!

Lately Thomas has been trying to fix everything. He got his tools out the other day to fix his bike. Yesterday he got them out to put together this car. I love how his tongue sticks out when he is in deep concentration. He didn't stop until the car was fixed! He is just too cute.

Today at church we were waiting for sacrament to begin when Thomas got all giddy and smiley. He looked at me with his eyes wide open smiling from ear to ear and said, "Mom Jesus is here." I thought how sweet and said, "Yes, he is always around us," he then pointed to the front of the room by the pulpit and said, "No Mommy, he is right there." I looked up and saw one of the church members who has longer semi curly hair and a beard. He was one of the speakers today. I couldn't help but laugh and give him a hug and tell him that Jesus is always with us but that the man in the front was giving a talk today.

Avery has been my little helper this weekend. She has always been a good helper especially with keeping her room clean. She came up to me on Saturday and told me she had wiped down the counters and cleaned the table. She told me she liked making me happy by helping me around the house. She is my little sweetheart. She always has been. She has the biggest heart and I am so thankful she is mine. She has always looked out for me. I love you Avery! She just came up to me and told me she had some things she needed to do and right now she is doing my dishes. Avery always remember this:)...that you LOVED helping me clean!!

I love this picture as Brynnley is always pressing her tongue on her bottom two teeth. She is adorable!! She has been having so much fun chasing the kids around and LOVES being outside. She would be happy if she could be out there all day. If the kids go outside, she runs for the door to try and get out herself as she is not afraid to get herself down the stairs and out the door. Gotta keep my eye on that one! Love her!

My adorable Thomas was a little afraid of a BIG storm last night. I have to admit I was wondering if I should wake them all up and head to the basement. Anyways, the lights and sounds had Thomas worried. I thought he was okay when the sounds of thunder calmed down but he could still see the lights from the lightning that still shined through his window and he was not okay with that. I finally sat down by his bed and told him that the lights were Heavenly Father and Jesus talking to him. He quickly calmed down and became very interested in what I was saying and soon began asking heavenly Father questions. It was so cute! He would say, "Heavenly Father do you love me".....luckily the light would shine through his window and he got so excited and said, "Mom, he loves me." He got the biggest smile on his face and his eyes were as big as can be. After a few questions were answered, he was totally fine and I was able to leave his room. I wonder how long he was asking questions to wait for a light to shine in. I hope that helps him in future storms too. After all the Lord really is with us through the storms of life if we will just acknowledge that he is there and have faith that he will help us rise above them.

Busy week....

This past week was busy over at our house........good busy! Even though we are not officially done with residency for another 15 days, my parents and Eric parents flew in for the graduation ceremony on the 11th. It was a day we thought would never come. I can now say where did the time fly. I couldn't help but ponder on the past 5 years and how much stronger we are as a family because of it. Avery was just 2 weeks old when we moved to madison WI. to start residency. I would always say to Eric, "Won't it be weird that when we leave Avery will be 5 and Thomas will be 4"....little did we know we would also have our sweet little Brynnley as well. I am excited for the future as we have great things ahead of us. We will be in Cincinnati OH for 1 year and then will move to Scottsbluff NE. We know that is where we need to be and have already made some friends. It is amazing how many people we have ran into the have loved Scottsbluff and many teenagers that have graduated and want to go back(which is promising for our children....they are what matters most to me). Whether or not we stay forever will be up to the Lord but I know it is where we need to be and running into people that even know where Scottsbluff is and tell us how much they love it is just a reminder of the feelings we felt as we interviewed there and knowing that is where God wanted us to be. He has always guided us on our path and that is why I try to always leave things in his hands. After all, he knows us best!

Since we had all of Thomas's favorite people here, we also celebrated Thomas's 4th birthday a little early. He doesn't like cake much so I created a cake with his favorite fruit..raspberries. I made a raspberry cream filling and he ate the first piece in seconds and was asking for more. I guess it was a success and that made me happy! I love making my kids birthday cakes. He also got to open up a few presents that he had been dying to open. Oh how I love that boy. He is such a sweetheart. My mom took the kids for a walk and Thomas ran and got my neighbors newspaper and ran it to their garage for them without being told to do so. At dinner he looked over and saw that Grandpa didn't have a napkin so he split his in half and gave it to him. Just a few recent examples this week of how tenderhearted he is. He loved having his grandparents here and told them he loved them everyday. I am grateful to have you in our family Thomas! You are the best!!! There will be more fun to come on the 14th when we celebrate his real birthday!

All the residents rented tuxes for graduation night. The 5 graduating senior residents are in the front. The strong glowing handsome one is mine!!! I love you more than ever Eric and am SOOOOOOOOOOOO proud of you!

Mom and I posing for a shot before we headed out for the ceremony. Isn't she pretty!

Brynnley making us laugh as she tried to squeeze her face inside the hole of the kitchen chair. She is so much fun.

Thank you Grandma, Grandpa, Grammy, and Grandpa for being here with us to celebrate two special events. We loved every seconds with you here. We are so lucky to have you all. Our kids are so blessed to have grandparents that love them so much. We love you and miss you!