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.

What Else Have We Been Up To?

I love spring. I love the flowers blooming, the longer nights, and the nicer weather to play outside. Here's a few things we have been up to lately: 

Do you know when it's officially spring? When my favorite tree is blooming. 

Brynnli brought this crown to me and insisted I wear it. I love hanging out with my girl on the swing. Our days together are numbered since she will be going to school all day next year, so I will take this one on one time with her any day. 

Hey, look who came back! Its Haylie and Henry. I hope Haylie will lay her eggs here again. 

Brynnli got to go with Daddy to get his covid vaccination and they stopped and got lunch. We are so going to miss hanging out with this cutie next year. 

All three kids fit into the basket at Costco. I'm sure this is the last time it will happen. 

Caden got Monopoly for his birthday and we have had so much fun playing it. It's my new favorite game... even if it does take 3 hours to play. 

The girls had another dance competition. They did so great!

Seriously, how flexible is this girl?

Caden acted all embarrassed when we sang happy birthday to him at Red Robin, but I know secretly he loved it. Well, he probably loved the ice cream cake more, but that's ok. 

I was telling my coworker how Brynnli likes to make things out of trash, so she gave me some trash to give to Brynn. Empty egg cartons make the best bus for her princess dolls. 

Hey, who's that monkey climbing so high in the tree?

Did you know that I'm not a secretary? I am an education support professional. Just a fancy title for secretary, but I will take pretty flowers on whatever day. Have I told you how much I love my job? I really love it so much. 

They even made me an official employee and gave me a name plate. 

Baseball season is here and we love watching our #3

We have new neighbors who moved in behind us. Randy and Kim Wright are the nicest people. They have bunnies and are so nice to let our kids go over to pet and hold them. Makayla was in heaven. She has been asking us for a bunny now for a while, and if it weren't for her allergies, we would totally say yes. 

Tyler got a Rec Tec Grill, so he has been making us all sorts of yummy foods. This was carne asada tacos. 

Haylie just watching our kids jump on the tramp. 

This sweet girl got Student of the Month! We are so proud of Brynnli. She is such a good kid and is learning so much in Kindergarten. We complain about how much homework she has in Kindergarten, but we are so impressed that Brynnli is starting to read and write full sentences. 

Just hanging out doing homework after dinner. About this time of year we all start to get so sick of homework. 

Hey, did you know that we finished our pantry? Tyler did such a good job on it. He literally did this entire thing by himself (ok, Craig helped). This pantry is better than anything I could have imagined. I love the mini drink station and the perfectly designed shelves, drawers, and counter tops. My hubby is seriously amazing!!

Do you know another reason why Tyler is so amazing? He is helping to coach Caden's baseball team. 

Something about this picture makes me sad. I don't know if its her long hair or her long legs, but Makayla is just looking more and more grown up everyday. I long for the days when she played dolls and pretend and could fit perfectly on my lap. 

What else do you do at the ball park when you're bored? Make a bed out of the wagon and enjoy your snacks, of course!

Yep, Spring is here and we couldn't be more excited! Bring on the blooming trees. 

An update on the Corona Virus: At the end of April in Utah there were 397,323 cases, and 2,202 deaths. The good news is that over 2 million vaccines have been given to Utahns, including me and Tyler. A lot of our family members are now fully vaccinated, and things are looking up. 

It's A Mario Time

After all the fun we had on Easter and Caden's Birthday, we weren't even done celebrating yet. 

We couldn't wait to make Caden's 9th birthday the best one yet. If you remember last year is when we were in the early days of the pandemic and there was so much uncertainty. Caden's birthday plans had to be cancelled and he was so great to understand that things had to be different. So this year we wanted to make it up to him and I promised him we would make his 9th birthday epic. 

Caden had a baseball game on the Monday after his birthday and we planned to go to dinner at his favorite place, Red Robin, after, but when we got to the restaurant at 7:00 pm they said the wait was an hour and a half long. We were all starving and didn't want to wait that long, so we went over to Sizzler and got Caden a steak and ice cream... two of his favorite foods. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but Caden is really great at understanding sometimes things don't go as planned. 

Then on Saturday, April 10 Caden got to have a birthday party with is friends. 

Caden invited Seth and Eli from school; Johnny, Stephen, and Nate from the neighborhood; Bentley and his cousin Camden. 

We had an obstacle course set up to mimic the Mario video game. The kids started out by going through the tunnel, then they had to smash King Boo (Make a basket), then they had to collect three coins hanging in the tree, run over to smash a goomba (pop a balloon), do a trick on the tramp, kill Bowser (make the ball go into the hole 3 times) then slide down the flagpole (slide). The kids had a blast. 

How cute is Brynnli? She dressed up like Princess Peach all by herself. 

After the obstacle course the kids were starving. Pizza and drinks for the win. 

Next Caden got to open his presents. He got a lot of Legos and toys.

We played another game called "Fire power the Piranah Plant" where they had to take cheeseballs and make them into a basket. 

Caden got to blow out the candle on his Mario cupcake. 

Just when you thought the fun was over, the next day we had another party with our family. We had hamburgers and hotdogs and played the obstacle course with the cousins. I was seriously laughing so hard watching the big cousins, Carson and Colton, trying to beat each other. Tyler even joined in and won the whole thing in the fastest time. 

Caden got even more presents from family members. I swear he got every single Lego Mario set available. 

Caden has been wanting Monopoly for so long and he finally got it! Thanks Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Bob. 

This time dessert was donuts. YUM

Happy 9th birthday to the best Buddy around. In honor of Caden's 9th birthday, here are 9 things we love about our little Cader Mater: 

1. Caden is the sweetest kid. I'm not kidding, you will never meet a more thoughtful kid than Caden. He is always looking out for others. Sometimes in speech he gets to choose a prize and Caden will often choose a prize to give to his sisters instead of himself. When given the chance to choose something for himself, he will usually put his wants aside and do what the other person wants. This is such a great quality, but one thing we are working on at home and at school is standing up for himself and when appropriate, choosing what he wants to do. 

2. Caden is so smart. He is doing so well at school. He loves math and science and he's learning cursive. He tries his best at everything he does and his teachers tell us how great he is to have in class. 

3 He loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and has read all of them more times than he can count. In fact a lot of his stories begin with "In Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules..." We love that he loves to read. 

4. Some nights Caden comes down to our room at bedtime and goes, "Mom? Dad? I can't go to sleep." We laugh together and he climbs in the middle of our bed and falls asleep. Sometimes he's a bed hog, and sometimes we complain about him sleeping in the middle, but we will always remember this special snuggle time with our Buddy. 

5. Caden is so great at sports. He just started baseball again for the spring and is doing so well. He plays 2nd base and right field. He also loves playing basketball. 

6. Legos. This kid loves Lego and can literally build anything. He is so creative. And he loves to figure out how things work. I think this kid is destined to become an engineer someday. 

7. His stories. We are working on telling shorter stories and just giving the main idea, but we love Caden's extra detailed stories. 

8. Caden loves treats. His favorite is cake with a lot of frosting. If cake isn't available, he will choose cookies, candy, or anything sweet. Let's face it, Caden is not the best eater. He likes meat, fruit, and treats... that's it. I usually have to bribe him to eat his veggies by offering a treat at the end. The best is when we make him try a bite of beans or mashed potatoes and he literally gags. It's the funniest and saddest thing to watch. 

9. 9 years ago our "surprise baby" came into our lives. Caden is such a blessing to our family. He's funny and sweet. He's smart and sarcastic. He's loving and understanding. He's the best little buddy. We hope he had an epic 9th birthday!