Spring is in Full Swing

Get it? Spring is in full swing because we spend a lot of our nights watching our favorite buddy play baseball at the park. 

And we find interesting ways to entertain ourselves at the games. 

And we make lots of new friends at the ballpark. Seriously this girl is a social butterfly. Every game she will disappear and come back to us saying, "Can I have a treat for my new friends?" She may forget, or not even remember to ask their names, but she makes friends wherever she goes. 

When we're not at games, we're cheering on our girls at their dance competitions. 

This is Makayla's teacher Marnie Denos. She has been the best teacher for Makayla. She has instilled a new level of confidence in Makayla that we haven't seen before and it has been so fun to watch Makayla grow into a beautiful dancer this year. Marnie selected Makayla and two other girls from her dance class to do a trio next year, so we are super excited for that!

Brynn is literally doing tricks wherever we go. 

That's Makayla in the middle doing her heel stretch. She is amazing!

Caden is such a good big brother to give Brynnli a piggie back through the store. 

Can you find Caden?

We stopped at Tyler's work to pick up a few things and Brynnli got right to work on his white board. 

Our kids' talents are amazing. 

Guess who lost her 2nd tooth? This girl!! I love that she lost the bottom tooth right below the tooth she had pulled. Now she has a big gap in her teeth. She looks as cute as ever!!

The tooth fairy even came and brought her $5 and a pack of gum!

Brynnli loves the playroom. She can be up there for hours just playing away with her toys. 

We went on a bike ride through Daybreak and stopped to explore this huge house. Can you spot all the kids? 

Oh you know, just doing some stretches while watching t.v. I mean seriously, how can she do this?

Caden really loves the Dutch Waffles at school breakfast. He gives them 5 stars and comments, "they are amazing"... using my name and email address. 

So here's a story for you. We decided early on that we were not going to get our kids a new gaming system until they figured it out and asked for one. We figured we had a Wii from when we were first married, and that was good enough to play games on. Well Caden started realizing that all gaming systems are not the same and that all of his friends had an xbox, so he started asking us for one. We were pretty proud we made it until Caden was 9 before he figured it out. We decided we should start looking because gaming systems are really hard to come by right now because of a lack of electronic chips. Well I searched all the major stores and they were all sold out, so one night I happened to be on the computer and found an xbox and bought it right then. We surprised the kids with it one night and they were so excited. Despite having a few meltdowns and getting frustrated over Minecraft, they kids have had so much fun with their new Xbox. 

Hey!

We got a new outdoor projector and had a fun night with our first outdoor movie theater. 

We went on a long bike ride and ended up at Gardner Village where they were having their Fairy Festival. We walked around and tried to find all the hidden fairies. We even met a real unicorn!

Ok, how many cups does one family need? This is ridiculous. 

We found this baby bird that was either hurt or couldn't fly. We were worried it wouldn't survive until our back door neighbors took it and put it in their tree. Hopefully the poor thing survives. 

Guess who's getting a new roof? This family. Caden was so excited to watch them, he took his breakfast out with him. 

And the finished product. Oh the things that bring you joy as a home owner. 

Remember how we went to the Fairy Festival at Gardner Village? Brynnli wanted to go back so bad, so we spent her last day with just me and her and went back there. We had so much fun together and she even managed to convince me to buy her two unicorn toys. 

I have loved being a stay at home mom and raising our kids, and I can't believe that time has come to an end. I remember the first days home with all three kids by myself when all three kids were crying and whining at the same time and I wondered if I would make it through the day. I remember those long days trying to keep them entertained waiting for dad to get home from work and feeling exhausted. But I also remember spending days getting sunkissed at the splash pad and playing at the park. I remember the sounds of them laughing and playing together in the playroom. I remember thinking when Brynnli was just a baby that it seemed like so far away until she had to go to school all day, yet here we are at the end of our time. Yes, the saying is true: the days are long, but the years are short. I loved spending the last few years just me and her while the big kids were in school. Now excuse me while I go cry. 

Look who got new nails. I think I need a vacation to Hawaii. 

Caden had his last baseball game of the season. Caden really learned a lot this season and had to overcome some fears along the way, but we are so proud of him. He was the youngest player on his team and played against some kids who were 11 years old. Caden's team did great and really learned how to play together. They only won a few games, but they all learned more about the game. 

Caden's grandparents are so great. They came to just about every single game and cheered him along. 

For the last game the kids got to have a pizza party. This was such a fun group of kids. 

We love our little buddy and love watching him play baseball. 

Caden starts basketball next month and then he will play baseball again in the fall. 

I remember at the beginning of the school year and all the uncertainty not knowing if sending our kids to school was the right decision, worrying if they would get sick, and not knowing how long they would be in school before getting shut down. This year was unlike any other, but we've almost made it. Can you believe our kids's school didn't get shut down once? A lot of schools around us did and a lot of kids had to be at home on quarantine, but we feel so lucky that it didn't happen to us. We have been counting down the days until the end of school with our countdown made of masks. I am so clever!

Yep, Spring is in full swing and we can't wait until those long summer days are here. Bring on Summer!!

Mom's Day

Truth. 

I love being a mom to these three kids. They are so much fun and bring so much joy to my life. I love watching each of them try new things. I love watching them figure out what they like and don't like. I love cheering them on when they overcome a hurdle. I love celebrating a new achievement with them. I love being the one they tell their fears and worries to. I love when they come into my bed in the morning and snuggle. I love sitting down at the dinner table and hearing about their day, and I love tucking them in bed kissing them good night. I have three amazing kids that call me mom, and for that I am eternally grateful!

Since we are on the topic of moms, I want to share a few thoughts about some very influential moms in my life. Let's start with my mom. I'm having trouble writing about my mom without crying. You see, my  mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease last August. We've known for a while that her memory was going, but it took a long time to convince her to go to a doctor. The diagnosis didn't come as a surprise, but the mourning process has been surprising for me in the strong way it ebbs and flows. I know what's in her future because I watched my grandpa decline the same way, and when I think of that, my heart breaks. I miss the mom I had growing up. Alzheimer's is so cruel because I feel like I'm losing a part of her every time I see her. I'm envious of other people around me who get together with their moms all the time, and my mom never remembers to call me. I think what gets me through the sadness is remembering all the good memories I had with her growing up. Since I didn't have any sisters, my mom and I were very close. We would go shopping and to lunch together all the time. She was always so supportive of anything I wanted to do, and she was there at a moments notice to help me when my kids were little babies. I remember going on long walks with her and telling her everything that I was worried about, or hopeful about, or stressed about. Because of how close we were as I was growing up, I really thought of my mom as more of a sister than a mom. My mom is such a great example and has modeled patience, love, and enduring through the hard times. I don't know how many more years I will have with my mom, but I won't take them for granted.  

I can't forget Terry. I really admire the relationship Terry has with her kids and grandkids. Tyler talks to his mom multiple times a week and Terry is always aware of the big and small events going on in our lives. She comes to all of the kids' sporting and dance events and cheers them on.  She's always thinking of others and how she can help them. Terry is always planning events and is really the glue that keeps the family together. When it comes to in-laws, I really got a great one!

One of the people I look up to the most is Tyler's Grandma. She has been such a good example in the 12 short years I have known her. She is always so happy and genuine every time we see her. I have a few distinct memories of Bonnie. She was there in the temple when Tyler and I received our endowments, when my mom couldn't be there. She was so excited for us, and the support really meant a lot to me and Tyler. But the memory that sticks out the most is one day we were at a family party and she was getting ready to leave and as she said good bye to me, she looked at me right in the eyes and said, "you know, you're a really good mom." I don't know if she felt inspired to say that, but it meant so much to me because she said it at a time when I was really struggling. Some times as a mom, I worry I'm failing and messing everything up, but she reassured me to keep trying. And at 89 years old, she's as tough as they come!

Happy Mother's Day to all the influential mom's in my life.