Vegas Baby!!

Two weeks ago, we went on a little vacation.  Trevor (Matt's brother) was heading off to UNLV and the whole family was going to settle him in.  The only one missing was Matt's brother Tyler.  It was a turn-around trip, just one night, but it was lots of fun.  We left Sunday morning and headed straight to the campus to get his dorm room set up.  With 8 adults (and 3 kids) we got his room re-arranged and his belongings moved in in record time.  Good thing his roommate wasn't there yet, I think we would have scared him off!! 

Jeff, Matt, and Trevor in front of the dorms

 After his dorm room was good to go, we headed to our hotel.  We stayed at the Aria.  It's beautiful there.  The rooms are so nice.  We had a late lunch and walked the strip a bit.  The kids loved the lights.  Mackenzi loved the Eiffel Tower at Paris. 

 Then, Grandpa got us a limo to drive down the strip.  The kids were so excited (especially Mackenzi).  We were headed to the Mirage to watch the volcano erupt.  We had talked to the kids about all the things we could see in Vegas and they all wanted to see the volcano. 

 It wasn't quite time for the volcano show, so we walked through the lobby and checked out the fish.

Mackenzi and Uncle Cody

 The kids were SO excited for the show.  We picked the perfect spot, right up front.  Once the music, smoke, and explosions started all three kids were crying.  They hated it.  They were so scared!  Oh well.

 The next day, we checked out Trev's new campus.  We said a very tearful goodbye and headed home.

We are so proud of Trevor for making the decision to transfer and start his life in Las Vegas.  I think great things are going to happen to him.  We are sure going to miss him!

A Special Trip

Mackenzi got to go on her first field trip today at preschool.  Well, it was kind of a field trip.  Her class walked to a different classroom.  Her assistant teacher was pretending she was the owner of a Donut Shop and made donuts for Mackenzi's class.  They had to bring money from  home and buy their own donut to take back to class to eat for snack.  Mackenzi was thrilled!!  Donuts make her oh so happy.  She said she went to sleep dreaming about the field trip today.  Silly girl.  I had to snap a few shots of her before school, just because she was soooooo excited.

 Can you tell by her model session that she was excited?!? 

She gets to go on another field trip on Friday.  They're walking to the mailbox to mail a picture home!  She can't wait!!

Happy

Last Wednesday was the day that started the flu in our house.  Quinn got it first.  By Sunday night, we had all suffered from it.  I ended up getting it the worst of all, but Matt put on his cape and became SUPER DAD that night.  I'm happy to say that we are all feeling much, much better.  Over the past week, there was a lot of this...

 THIS WEEK, I am happy.  I feel like there is so much to be done this week.  Cleaning, laundry, sanitizing, (yuck), party planning for the boys 3rd b-day, ahhhh...so much.  But I'm happy.  Here's a few things that are making me happy right now...

Conversation Hearts

 I love Conversation hearts.  I don't know why NECCO brand decided to change the flavor on my favorite Valentine's day candy.  But, I'm happy that BRACH'S still have yummy ones.  Not only are the delicious, but they're darn cute V-day decoration, right??

Hanging Storage in our Garage

 Matt worked his little tail off Sunday morning to hang these bad boys.  He didn't get to them  all, but I'm in love.  I love that all of our my junk stuff is off the garage floor.  Christmas boxes and my Snoopy collection are now perfectly in their place.  By the way, anyone want to buy Snoopy (Peanut's collectibles), Creative Memories Supplies, Collector Holiday Barbies, or ADORABLE girl crib bedding???  :)  That would sure make my hubby happy!!

Valentine's Day Crafts

 I have had some things I've wanted to get done for our house and a few things for my mom.   I worked on them this morning and they are just about done...

Birth Announcements

 I feel so grateful when my friends ask me to create their children's birth announcements, invitations, and holiday cards.  I have a stack ready to be delivered for a sweet friend of mine who just gave birth to a sweet baby girl. 

MY happy, beautiful children

Enough said.  I just love these three.

I hope you have a happy day too!!

Spic-and-Span

Like I posted before, I am trying to get organized with A Bowl Full of Lemons. 

She is doing a challenge called 21 days to getting organized.

I mentioned that I wouldn't bore you with before and after pictures...but you begged, so here they are.  Actually, I didn't do before pictures, so here's what it looks like now.  I really need to buy some containers to further organize, but for now this will have to do.

Under my kitchen sink

Our pantry.

Our (new) refrigerator

Our laundry room

The bathroom drawers (in the kids' bathroom)

Jace & Quinn's dresser drawers

Toy bins in the toy room

I still have some things to do, but it's a start!!! 

Happiness Is...

Happiness Is...

five happy grand children,

 one garage full of tools,

 and a silly Boppa

 creating masterpieces together.

I don't know who had more fun, the kids or my dad. 

I'm thinking my dad...

A Change for Uncle Trevie!

I've mentioned before that our kids are so lucky that they have such wonderful people in their lives.  They have a total of 7 uncles!  7 uncles....how lucky are they!!  Uncle Trevie LOVES to play with the kids.  He makes them giggle and they make him giggle.  It's so cute to watch.  He randomly calls or sends me a text asking if he can stop by.  It usually happens at least a couple times a month.  The kids love when he comes to 'play'.  Tuesday was the last time he'll be coming to play for awhile.  Uncle Trevie just got accepted to transfer to UNLV to major in Hospitality Management. He will be moving there this weekend!   He's planning on going to culinary school once he receives his degree.  How great is that?  Matt's excited that he now has an excuse to visit Las Vegas (his most favorite place).  Although we are going to miss him, we couldn't be more excited for Trevor. 

Good Luck Trev!

Excuse me while I grab my walker....

It's a sad, sad day.

I was looking at myself in the mirror while the kids were napping (I'm a face picker) and saw something on top of my head, glistening in the sunlight that was shining through my window.  I had to climb up into the sink to get really close to the mirror, you know to get a closer look. 

Frickin'.GREY.hair.

Of course, I pulled them...I know, I know....shouldn't do that.  But I did.  I pulled them because I couldn't tell if they were just really, really blond or grey.  I should have known.  They were grey.  UGH!  I'm not too surprised, my dad had a head of grey by the time he was in his early 30s.  Man, not only do I have to get my hair done to cover up my nasty, mousy, dirty blond hair, but now I have to cover up grey as well. 

A sad, sad day I tell you.

Excuse me now...I have to go find my walker....

This and That

Mackenzi, Jace, and Quinn are all napping right now!  AHHH, that sure is a sweet sound!  Mackenzi just came home from her very first slumber party.  She spent the night at a friend's house from school.  Just a small slumber party with 4 little girls.  Gina (the Mama) said that they giggled, dressed up, read books, and danced until 11:30 last night.  Mackenzi (the early riser) was awake at 6:30 a.m.  So she definitely needed this nap.  She was so tired.  I'm going to try to get pictures from their fun night. 

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I've been working hard on organizing our house.  We're pretty organized already, but I wanted to make sure everything was in order.  I've been getting inspiration from a few (new to me) home organization blogs.

I heart Organizing

A Bowl Full of Lemons

Just Organize Yourself

I'm not going to bore you with before and after pictures, but this past week I've tackled the boys' dresser, under the kitchen sink, the pantry, our junk drawer, and the refrigerator.  I really want to go buy some small storage bins and drawer organizers for our bathrooms....but, we'll see.  Next on the list: our craft cupboard, bathroom drawers, and the toy room.

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The boys are doing such a good job with the potty training.  I would say that they are 99% potty trained by day.  Night time is such a different story.  Their pull-ups are completely saturated when they wake up.  We never had an issue with night training Mackenzi, she just didn't go at night.  This is all new territory to us.  Any tips and advice for them would be GREATLY appreciated.  They already don't get anything to drink after dinner time....advice?!?

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I've been throwing around a few craft ideas that I'd like to do for Valentine's day.  My red and pink decorations are up in our house, but I don't have too many.  I just love Valentine's day decor.  I think it's 'cause pink is my favorite color!! 

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I've also been tossing around ideas and thinking about Jace & Quinn's 3rd birthday party.  I just cannot believe that my little men are already going to be three in 5 weeks. 

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Speaking of 5 weeks...My sister Dana is due in just 5 weeks.  I cannot wait to see his little face and cuddle him.  Her pregnancy seems to have flown by, I can't believe it's already time for him to make his big debut!  Mackenzi is so excited to meet her newest cousin!

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Okay, time for me to make the most of this nap time.  I'm hoping to mop the floors and get a little exercise in before my little munchkins wake up!! Thanks for listening to me ramble about this and that!!

Little Brothers

Kids look up to their older siblings.  They want to be just like them, act like them, dress like them, play like them.  If the oldest sibling is a boy, "boy toys" are the wanted items...sports and action figures are popular.  If the oldest is a girl: barbies, dolls, and make up are a hit. Much to Daddy's dismay, our house is filled with girly toys and accessories.  Mackenzi received lots and lots of make up for Christmas: chap stick, lip balm, lip gloss litter our house.  Big sissy Mackenzi forgets to put her make up where her brothers cannot reach them, so they get into them from time to time. 

See...

 They see their big sister putting on makeup. 

They see their mommy do it. 

The makeup is sparkly and taste good!! 

Who can blame them? 

Taking it in...

I'm usually up, dressed (most of the time), and downstairs around 6:45 a.m. every morning.  I love being able to enjoy my cup of coffee, chat with my hubby, and check a few things on the internet before the kids wake up.  One of my favorite things is to see what the sunrise looks like each morning.  Man, oh man, we have had some beautiful ones lately.  This was the sunrise on Thursday morning. 

 

Isn't it beautiful?!?  I had to grab my camera and snap a few shots before it changed.  I love to stand at my sliding door and take it all in...

Just a Sprinkle!

Last Thursday night, Dana's friends threw her a baby sprinkle.  Since she has kept so much of Braeden and Kelsea's clothes and necessities from when they were babies, she didn't need much.  So instead of a big ol' shower, they threw her a Baby Sprinkle.  Diapers and Wipes was what was needed and that's what she got ( and a few other cute things for the baby boy).  I had such a great time meeting her friends and finally putting a face to the names I have heard about.  Everyone was so sweet and Kim decorated her house so adorable for the shower!  Here are a few pictures.  To see more CLICK HERE to head on over to my mom's blog.

Only 5 weeks left until this baby makes his appearance!  I can't wait to see his sweet face (as well as hold him and cuddle him) and see just what Dana and Kevin decide his name should be!!

It's a New Year!

Happy New Year my blog reading friends! 

This is going to be a very exciting year for our family!  We have lots of big events ahead of us: Planning the boys' 3rd birthday.  In the spring, we will celebrate Matt's 30th birthday, and  we will go on a Mexican cruise in spring with the kids.   Mackenzi turns 5 this summer & starts Kindergarten in the fall, & the boys  start preschool in the fall. 

 I've been thinking about my resolutions from 2010 and I think I did okay with sticking to them. 

 Here's a little reminder of what they were:

1. PLAY MORE

2. Manage my time a tad bit better

3. Exercise more

3. Loosen up a little

4. Be a little more selfless and a bit more giving

5. Stop worrying about the things I cannot control

6. Don't count the days, make the days count!!

I think I did pretty darn good.  So, I got to thinking about my resolutions for 2011. 

Here they are:

1.  Put more effort in being a better mommy to our children.  Actively play more, engage with them more, be more patient, etc.

2.  Put more effort in being a better wife to my hubby.

3.  Put more effort in being a better me!  A bit more self control and motivation to become a healthier me!

I have only made three, but I feel that they pack quite a punch!! 

Here's to a new and exciting year. 

Hopefully I can say I have finished 2011 being a much more successful mommy, wife, and woman!!

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve 2010

We started off our morning with breakfast to celebrate the birthday of the newest 7 year old in town.  We all met up at BC Cafe (Kick Back Jack's) to celebrate Braeden's birthday.  I cannot believe he is already seven years old.  He got lots of cool jets (that the Bobo's really wanted). 

 Then we were off to ring in the new year at Dusty and Emily's 3rd annual Jammie Jam Party.  We all put our jammies on and headed down  the street to their house.  The kids had a blast jumping in the jumper and watching movies with their friends.  They got to enjoy yummy popcorn too (thanks to Grandpa & Grandma for our new popcorn machine).

The last two years there had been 8 toddlers and 8 adults ringing in the new year...this year there were 11 kids 4 and under 3 teenagers and one bun in the oven (Brandon & Alicia are expecting in June).  What a difference a year makes!  We let the kids stay up a bit longer than normal, then we put them to bed.  The adults had fun playing games, dancing, and enjoying each other's company.

We had such an awesome time!  Thanks for the fun memories Dusty and Em!!
Click HERE and HERE to see the last two jammie jams!!