Monday, March 28, 2016

Phone Pictures

I usually take more pictures on my phone than with my big camera.  I never blog them though, so today I decided to remedy that problem.  These pictures span a decent amount of time but are too cute to not document.  The above picture is of Daniel with all of his collections.  This boy absolutely loves to collect things and hold onto them.  He often has his arms full of items that he simply cannot let go of, and his hands will be filled with coins.  Then, when he drops any of the said items, there is a big huge melt down.  I try to convince him to put it in bags or in a toy buggy and tote it around that way.  Nope.  He just loves carrying things.
I realized as I was looking through these photos that about 70% of the photos I take are of Jenna.  She's the baby, so that's just  how it goes.  Look how little hair she had!

We do a preschool mommy swap with several of my friends.  It's so fun and the kids are so stinkin' cute.  There are five of them and they have really become close.  Every time Daniel sees any of them he says, "Hey, that's my buddy!"  It's been a great school year with them.  This is our little welcome board to see who's there at school that day.  Under each window is a picture of the child with a magnet to keep it open.  Then we put a little magnet by their name to show what type of helper they get to be that day.  Each mom took one task to make, and this was mine.  Some of the others were the weather board, the calendar, little take home sheets, etc.
A hot summer day at the park.
Such a little ham!
Jenna used to loooove getting into toilet paper.  Oh my!

I got to go to the Orlando temple for a session several months ago.  We had gone down for the weekend and took the kids to Disney.  It was a really fun memory!
We loved staying in the Disney World Resort.  We got the hotel for $90 and it was awesome!  They had a huge pool with lots of water slides, a baby area with a splash pad, a restaurant right by the pool, and beautiful scenery.  The room had this cute little fold out bed that was attached to the wall.  We thought it was a great idea.  So many fun memories made that weekend.
All ready to hit the theme park.
Soaring in the airplane!


The Dumbo ride is a must!



The kids loved being able to drive a car all by themselves.  The video of Daniel doing this is hilarious.  I felt like we were in a human pin ball machine.


I know this is a terrible picture of me but I'm posting it to show how incredibly hot we were.  Seriously!  Look at Jenna's red cheeks.  It was a very sweaty day for all of us.



Daniel is such a boy!  He's always trying to get the bad guys.


Josh spoiled me on my birthday and took care of everything.  He is always so good to me, and I love him for it!
Check out those guns!


Nice Andrew....
Josh and I got tickets a FSU football game.  We were invited to sit in the President's Box.  It was so cool.  We got to park right next to the stadium, for free, and go up this special elevator to this very secure room where we got to eat tons of delicious food.  It was raining that night so luckily we sat where we didn't have to get wet.  It was awesome.  We had so much fun being together.  The crowd had high energy.  We loved singing all of the chant songs with them.  It was a great night.

Anna and I went on a mommy daughter date to Firefly Pottery.  We each painted a plate.  It took us THREE hours!  We both really love art and were just in our element.

I love this girl so much.  She has the sweetest heart!
We had a teddy bear picnic at Anna's school.  It was so fun to get to eat lunch with her out on the lawn.  We read books together and just enjoyed being with each other.

We went to Anna's school to support their fun run.  It's the school's Boosterthon where they raise money.  The kids each had to run 40 laps.  Great idea but the weather was almost unbearable.  It was over 100 degrees and super sunny.  We were all melting.  Anna's cheeks were bright red!!  I was dying of heat and I wasn't even running.  Those poor kids.
On our way to Utah.  We went out to see my brother, Greg, get married to his sweetheart.  We had such a fun trip!

We had the BEST time walking around BYU.  It was so fun to show our kids all of the wonder of that great school.  We really hope that they will be able to go there one day.  They already have the fight song down, so we're on the right track!  ;-)
Here we are at the Creamery on Ninth.  Such a fun memory!
Daniel was killing me in his little BYU hat.  He's so much fun!
All of the kids got to pick something out from the bookstore.  It was like they had died and gone to heaven.
We just HAD to get some Cafe Rio while we were there.  We met up with our family and friends.  The food was great.  We ate outside and it was super chilly.  Well, it was for me.  The people who live in Utah thought I was crazy for being bundled up in a blanket.  I was still freezing even with my big ol' fleece blanket.  I am definitely a FL girl now.
Amanda was getting remarried just two weeks after this.  I really wanted to be there but Josh had just had his seizure and I didn't feel like I could leave him.  He was not back to normal!  It was hard for me to not be there for her, so she tried her dress on for me.  She looked absolutely stunning.  Amanda is someone that I definitely look up to.  I'm so happy that she and Nate are so happily married.
One of my all time favorite pictures.  My little Andrew is all boy!
Um, that's just adorable!
This was on one of our babysitting nights.  Always a good time with these friends.
The little mommies of the group.

My sweet Andrew turned five years old.  It was the off year for a birthday party, thank goodness.  We went simple on the cake and whole ordeal.  Andrew was just as happy too.
I just wanted to document how I always take pictures of things I'm thinking of buying.  I usually send these to my mom for her opinion.  I love technology.

Halloween shot!  I love my little butterfly!

Jenna loves to get dressed up.  She's always putting things on her head.  It's so much fun.
Could she get any happier?  I think not.

Here's our little preschool friends.  They are all so sweet.  I love it!





The kids absolutely LOVE going up to Josh's school to eat lunch with him.  It's a trek but we all have a good time.  I'm so grateful for a husband who works so hard for us.  He's the best!
We had a fun day at Skate World with the little preschool kids.  It was only for ages five and under and they all had a great time.  There were these cute little cars, a bounce house, a craft and snack, and fun music.





We made some cute turkey cupcakes for Thanksgiving.  The kids thought it was a blast.

I came across this picture one day of Anna and Brinley.  We miss the Carrs being our next door neighbors so much.  Those were some of the most fun days of our lives.
Anna and Andrew sent Santa letters in the mail.  About two weeks later, they got a letter back from Santa, (with no help from Mommy, btw). It was so fun for them!
When Josh is away, it is highly likely that you will find us at Chick-fil-A for dinner.  Nothing is better than not cooking and letting the kids run around on a playground with a quiet door around it.
This cow was quite scary for the kids.  Anna was the only brave soul.

Jenna got super sick a little while back.  She got the flu and strep.  She didn't eat one ounce for seven days.  She would hardly drink anything.  It got pretty scary.  We went to the doctor twice that week, the urgent care, and the hospital.  The poor girl was severely dehydrated and didn't even have enough energy to lift her little head.  It was so, so sad.  I felt terrible for her.  I would spend the whole day almost every day just holding her.  She couldn't handle anything else.  Andrew and Daniel also got it but to a much milder degree.  I got it a little but not much.  I've never been so aware of what a blessing good health is.


This is us at the hospital.  She had an IV in her arm with a board to keep it straight.  She didn't like it at all but luckily fell asleep through most of it.
I was a primary teacher for these sweet girls for a year.  They were the BEST class.  We always had a good time.  Ali, Emily, Kate, and Lauralynn.
We went to the Bass Pro Shop to get a free picture taken with Santa.  I guess you get what you pay for.  The picture was super blurry.  Shutter speed people!  It was still fun though.  The kids thought it was pretty cool to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.
One day Andrew was talking about some toy that he really wanted.  I told him that he could earn his money and buy it himself.  His response, "Nah, I'll just put it on my Christmas list."  Soooo funny!
We were watching a football game when Daniel bent over like this and asked, "Mom, why do football players stand like this?"
We got season tickets to Wild Adventures.  The kids love going there.  There are some really fun carnival-like rides.  It's pretty small so it's not much walking.  The kids can go on most rides by themselves so whenever Josh and I want a break, we can just sit and watch.  It's awesome!!
Here is Andrew trying to figure out if he is brave enough for this big roller coaster.  He went on it and loved it!

The kids loved the go carts!
This was one of Daniel's favorite rides.  It's super small and just his speed.  He's so sweet.
They had one exhibit that was filled with "snow."  I took the kids on it while Anna and Josh went on the go carts.  Daniel and Jenna were in heaven!  It's just soap but the way they make it, it doesn't make you all soggy.  Such a fun idea!


Choo-choo!



This is Christmas morning.  We had to go out and try all of our new toys.  Such a fun, hot day!

When we got the kids these skates, we could barely wait to see them soar.  However, for the first day, they could hardly stand up on them without a major crash.  Now, they are little pros.  Andrew is super fast and almost always gives me a heart attack.  He has no fear of falling!
Christmas at Granny's house.  Jenna loves seeing Rocky.  He's a really sweet dog.

It's always fun to play card games when the kids are in bed.
We took the kids to a playground one day.  We all needed to get out of the house and the kids loved playing on the playground.  Aubrey and Jenna were little buddies.  It was so fun to watch them play together.







The boys loved burying themselves in the sand.


This is Josh and me on our 8th wedding anniversary.  We went to see The Martian and ate at Bonefish Grill.  Always a fun date with this guy!
More Wild Adventures pictures.  We went with our friends, the Maulers.  They are the sweetest family.  Our kids all want to marry their kids.  I would be totally okay if that actually worked out one day.

They loved having a buddy for every ride.



Josh and I went to Arizona together when he interviewed for a position at ASU.  The city there was amazing.  We had such a great time.  My mom was good enough to watch our kids for three days while we were gone.  We ended up choosing to take the position at UGA instead but this would have been a wonderful place to live.
Wherever there is a Cafe Rio, you can bet we're going!

THIS was the artwork in our hotel room.  I get it was trying to be Aztec art but it seriously looked like Anna drew it.  It was so bad I had to take a picture!!
Josh right before his interview.  Always so handsome!
The Gilbert LDS temple there is amazing.  It's a huge building.  Such a beautiful addition to that great city.
While Josh was off interviewing, I treated myself to Kneaders.  It was so delicious and the bakery looked to die for.  I splurged and got myself a treat.  A-MAZING!
So, there ya have it.  That's my life according to my phone.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

CA Peeps Fly to See the FL Peeps

 Dave and Linda came to visit us for a week back in February.  We had a great time catching up with them.  The kids loved playing with Dave.  He's a good playmate for our kids' ages.  Josh and I even got to sneak away for a date while they were here.  It was awesome!
 We played a lot in the front yard.  Frisbee, tag, chase Jenna around the yard....  What could be better?




 Grandma did some crafts with the kids.  They made these darling little owls for Valentine's Day.

 On Valentine's Day, we surprised the kids with cute little balloons and Star Wars bags that were filled with treats.  They we so excited!
 Josh got me some beautiful pink tulips and chocolate.  Win!  Win!  I love Valentine's Day.  I got Josh some chocolate donuts with this pink heart and some balloons.  We all got to enjoy that valentine.

It was a memorable week, and we are feeling super grateful for good grandparents.

Anna Turned Seven!

 Anna celebrated her 7th birthday on January 13th.  She is the sweetest girl in the world.  We are just crazy about her.  It was a great day filled with lots of singing and spoiling.  She got to open one present before school with her birthday breakfast.  We had pancakes and magic syrup, per her request.  Then off to school she went.  We went up to meet her at school for lunch.  I surprised her and brought her Subway and a chocolate chip cookie.  She was so excited!  Small things make a big difference to a little girl.


 In our family, we always go out to eat wherever the birthday boy/girl wants to go.  This year Anna chose Chick-fil-A.  She was excited for chicken nuggets and the playground.  I was so impressed with the customer service there.  The manager came up and brought us birthday hats, little toys, and gave the whole family free ice-cream.  Not only that, but they let Anna dispense the ice-cream herself.  She thought it was the best thing ever.  She couldn't believe they let her go in the back and was giggling the whole time.  I loved watching her get so excited.

 Boys.  Boys.  Boys!!

 Such a little sweetie!
 That cake was supposed to be purple.  Um, yeah....  It tasted really good though!


 We brought all of her gifts there too.  She was so happy with everything, so the night was a success.







 These people were so, so nice!!  We were really happy Anna chose to go there for her birthday!




Anna is such a special girl.  When she was born, we wanted her to be named after Josh's mom who died when he was just 8 years old.  So her name is Anna Lynn, after Josh's mom Lynn.  We feel like it is a special name for a special girl.  Anna is a straight arrow.  She is a stickler for rules.  For example, we were on a bus ride at Disney World one day chatting with the people next to us.  Somehow we got to talking about bedtime.  Anna told the lady, "Once, my mom told me I had to go to bed at 8:15 and I accidentally stayed up til 8:16!!!!!  Can you believe it?"  She was covering her mouth and giggling like she had done something really embarrassing.  That is Anna in a nut shell. She is very rigid like that and we love it!
Anna is loving school and has lots of sweet friends.  She's excited to start piano lessons when we move to Athens.  She loves to swim, be in charge, play the princess game on the wii, and give her sister lots and lots of hugs.  Anna is a great help to me and is even learning how to do parts of the dinner by herself.  She's growing up so fast and is excited for her next birthday when she gets baptized.
Some fun facts about Anna:
When Anna grows up she wants to be a mom.
Her favorite color is pink, of course!
Her favorite foods are watermelon, macaroni and cheese, and banana bread.
Her favorite TV show is Sophia the First.
Something that Anna's mom tells her all the time is, "I love you."
Something that Anna's dad tells her all the time is, "You're my sweetheart."
Something that is really easy for her is art.
Something that is really hard for her is when her brothers punch her and she tries not to cry.
Anna's favorite game to play is hide and seek.
Anna's best friend is Skylyn.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Anna Lynn Lee!