February Memories

February around here means a lot of nights spent at the U of U watching basketball or gymnastics. We love cheering on the Utes!

The kids think that whenever we go shopping they have to pose by all the mannequins.

February also means sickness. It seems like if one kid gets sick I just wait for it to go around to the whole family. Poor baby girl!

Random, but ok...

Holy snow! This winter has been crazy! It seems like we have had one snow storm after another. The snow is almost up to the swings.

Makayla got to go with me to the Princess Gymnastics meet. Not everyday you can take a picture with Swoop next to the statue of Swoop!

Karly and Rico have a new baby! Meet Mason Alexander Chavez. Tyler got to go to the hospital and see him. He's had a rough start and has been in the hospital with RSV, so the rest of us haven't met him yet. 

The kids made him some cute cards.

 We got to celebrate Tyler's birthday! Guess what he wanted for his birthday? A laser tag set. I almost feel like I have 4 children.

He was very excited about his gift, but I think the kids might be more excited about it than he is.

I guess I should consider myself lucky that I am his "Second Favorite mom." Not quite sure who the first favorite mom is, but I'll just be happy I made it in the top two.

Caden got to research and make a poster about the Liberty Bell. He did a great job presenting his poster to the class and learned a lot of interesting information about it.

Aww... they do love each other!

Just a typical weekday night working on homework.

More Utes Fans!

This should not be confused with Grandma Terry and Grandpa Craig, who are not All Americans.

Family Night, Pizza night in the basement. The kids thought it was so cool that they got to eat downstairs while they watched a movie.

February got us like....

This Cutie. I love our Thursday lunch dates!

 Caden got to go with me to the Blue and Gold Banquet for Scouts. It was a Lego theme and Caden was in heaven! I love spending time with this handsome boy!

Valentime's Day

I sent this to Tyler on Valentine's Day and asked him if he loved our kids just a little bit less now. 

Valentines... Valentimes... it's just a fun day to tell my family how much I love them!

Random fact: Do you know what Tyler's love language is? Cookies. 

I made 80 chocolate chip cookies, and I'm pretty sure Tyler ate 60 of them. 

 We had our traditional fancy dinner

 Then the kids got to open some presents from us. They got their own boxes of Oreos, a movie, and a new book for each kid.

 They wasted no time reading their new books. How cute are these pictures? Makayla read to Brynnli and it was the cutest thing. Caden got his very first chapter book, and that may have been even cuter. 

 We topped off the night with chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert (and chocolate chip cookies for Tyler... I'm pretty sure he ate those for dessert).

You might be wondering how Tyler and I spent our romantic Valentine's night? In a parenting class... learning how to teach your kids expected and unexpected behavior management. It was very romantic.

And that right there sums up almost 10 years of marriage.

Caden's First Loose Tooth

So a few weeks ago I was looking at Caden and thought his bottom teeth looked like they had a big space between them. I felt his tooth and realized he had a super loose tooth. I asked Caden if he knew he had a loose tooth, and he goes, "I do? Oh ya, I do!" well for the next few weeks every time I looked at him he was wiggling that tooth. On February 12 we were just sitting on the couch and I asked Caden if I could see his tooth. I felt it and it looked like it was ready to come out. I told Caden he should try to get it out that night. He said to me, "I got this mom!" He took one big push and that tooth flew right out of his mouth onto the floor! Caden started crying, Tyler grabbed his phone to record, and Makayla and I got on the floor to look for his tooth. Luckily Makayla found it within a few seconds. But amid the chaos, Tyler recorded the cutest conversation with a very upset Caden:

 Tyler: "Caden, what happened?"
Caden: "Ahh, Ahh, it hurts, it hurts!!"
Tyler: Caden, what happened?
Caden: "Ahh, I lost my tooth and it hurts... Ow!"
Me: "Caden, I'm so proud of you!"
Caden: "Owwie! It hurts!!"

Luckily after a few minutes he was able to realize how cool it was and gave us a huge toothless grin.

 That night he was even more excited to put his tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy to come.

The next morning Caden woke up to find $5 and a pack of gum! 

Doesn't he just look so cute with a missing tooth? Congratulations Buddy!

Dressed in White

It seems like just a few years ago Makayla was dressed in her first white dress, all ready for her blessing...

 How did those years go by so fast? Now here she is dressed in white again, and making the decision to be baptized. 

February 2, 2019 was a very big day for Makayla as she was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and we are just so incredibly proud of her!

Makayla had a little photo shoot in her white dress at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. She looks absolutely beautiful in her dress!

 We are so proud of Makayla and her decision to be baptized! When she met with the bishop, he asked Makayla why she wanted to get baptized, and she proudly stated that she wanted to be more like Jesus.

The day of her baptism, she got to open a present from us which was a CTR bracelet to help her remember to always Choose the Right.

 Here's a few pictures of her special day!

 I am so happy that Tyler was able to baptize her. Before we were active in the church I worried about the day our kids would be baptized. I knew that if needed, my dad could do it, but I knew that it would be more special if Tyler could do the baptism. And he did such a great job. We can't take pictures of the baptismal ordinance, but here's a picture of them right before Makayla was baptized.

 Makayla said the water was FREEZING, and she was shaking as I helped her get out of her wet clothes into her dress. I remember looking at her and thinking she was so perfect and pure, and she truly was!

Makayla was confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost and then Tyler gave her the most beautiful blessing. We know how much our Heavenly Father loves her and how much her family loves her and that was so clear in the blessing. Makayla is truly such a special daughter of God.

A lot of family and friends came to support Makayla on her baptism day and we are so grateful for such a great family!

 After the baptism and confirmation, we came to our house to celebrate Makayla's 8th birthday. Check out this cupcake cake my friend made to look like a beautiful white dress.

 We had "It's great to be 8" donuts and this cute sign I had made to remember Makayla's special day.

 Makayla opened presents. She got a lot of crafts, a pogo stick, and super cute clothes.

 Can't forget this handsome boy!

 Makayla ended her big day by blowing out the candle on her cupcake.

Happy 8th Birthday Makayla! We are so proud of you and your decision to be baptized.