My baby is TWO!

A couple weeks ago Landon turned two. We celebrated with family over for lunch and a party. One of Landon's my favorite things right now is SpongeBob. So it was an easy decision on what to do for his cake. And he LOVED it!

I hate to brag... but Landon has got to be the cutest little 2 year old there is. He is very smart and is saying new words every day. He says thank you for everything, even when he doesn't need to. He loves to snuggle. He loves to give hugs and kisses. He loves to greet his brother and sisters when they get home from school with a big hug. His favorite thing to say is, "Daddy stinks!" You give the kid an applesauce cup with a sippy cup of apple juice and he's a happy camper. They say at this age they hit the "Terrible 2's". But I have to admit...there is just nothing terrible about this little boy.

Bon Jovi

This week my sisters and I went to see Bon Jovi in concert in SLC. Which has been a huge dream of mine and Josh's. A couple of months ago we noticed that he was coming to Salt Lake. Woohoo!! So I called my sisters to see if they wanted to come with Josh and I along with their husbands (or boyfriend) whatever the case may be:) They were all in! (All except my sister Teri in New Mexico. It's a bit far to travel for a concert.) A few weeks before the concert Josh found out he had to be out-of-town for work the entire week of the concert. We were so bummed! If anyone was looking forward to it the most, it was Josh. But after I sulked about it for a day or two Josh told me "the show must go on" and to call a friend to take his ticket. So I did. I called my good friend Amie. If there's anyone I can rock it out with--it's her!  We had a blast! It was THE best concert!  We knew from the beginning we were gonna be in nose-bleed seats, we got the cheapest tickets there were. But usually there just isn't a bad seat in the Energy Solutions Arena. Well, that's what we THOUGHT! We had hands-down the worst seats in the house. Directly BEHIND the stage! Ya, shocking they even sell those seats. I was pretty bummed about it in the beginning. But once he came out on stage...and Richie Sambora started strummin' on his guitar...you totally forgot about the seats. I've decided there's just nothing quite like seeing a band or singer or whatever, that you have loved forever singing a song that you love, LIVE. Nothing like it. It was his Greatest Hits Tour so he literally sung all of his greatest hits. You name it--he sung it. LOVED IT!! I promised Josh the next time Bon Jovi comes to town--we're all over it. TOGETHER THIS TIME!

It's My Life

                                                   Livin' on a Prayer

                                                 I'll Be There For You

Valentine's Day 2011

Okay, I know I'm slow to getting these pictures up, but whatever--they're up. Our family had a really great Valentine's Day this year. It was busy--but good. First, I helped with Katelyn's class party and did a chocolate fountain for the class. A real hit for sure! (Sorry no pictures). But I had so much left over chocolate we decided to do one at home with the fam...

We also did a "Love Box". I originally wanted to start this on February 1st, but couldn't get it all togther, so we actually started it a week before Valentine's Day. The idea is every night you write on a little cut-out heart a reason why you especially loved someone in your family that day. Then the idea was to read them all on Valentine's Day, but that didn't happen either (we had a bit of a crazy night that night with Katelyn sick in the urgent care) so we did it later. But it was a fun activity and new tradition.

I have been wanting to make these suckers that I found on one of my most favorite blogs for a long time. In order to make these you have to prepare for it at Christmas time and stock up on mini-candy canes. I actually made some with my Achievement Day girls and with MY girls. They turned out really cute!

Then on Valentine's morning I put together little love baskets for my kids and had them ready for them that morning, all placed by their bar stools where they eat breakfast. Complete with little love notes. Nothing fancy. Just little dollar store stuff. They loved them....

We completed the morning with pink, heart shaped pancakes....

But one of my favorite parts of the day was a card Emma made for me and Josh. It was a heart made with 2 pieces, each piece representing me and Josh. (Notice Josh's side is in blue and says BYU.) Pretty funny, clever and sweet.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great how some parents spend Valentine's night as a whole family having a nice meal or out to dinner. But I prefer to do the fun "kids stuff" in the morning and during the day. As long as I know I've done something special and out of the ordinary for them that day, I don't feel guilty going out with just me and Josh that night. In fact, that's the EXACT reason we had Mason induced on February 13th because I just knew that if I didn't, he would come on Valentine's Day and then Josh and I would NEVER have a Valentine's Day to ourselves again. A decision I'll never regret.

Mason's 7th Birthday

My Mason had a great 7th birthday! He first celebrated with 2 of his cousins Madison and McKinley who all have birthdays all within a week of each other. This is the second time we've done this and it's a great way to get them all done in one big party! We celebrated at Leo's with pizza and LOTS of cake. And I mean LOTS of cake.....

Because all 3 birthday kids names started with an "M" I decided to make a big giant "M" cake. With M&M's on it of course! I made it out of bread pans and then just cut and pieced it together with cupcakes coming out the side that spelled their names. It was fun.

The following week Mason had a friend party. I told him he had to keep it small because he wanted to go see the movie Megamind. (Plus we had just had a big family party.) So he had 3 friends over. They made their own pizzas, had some cake and went to the movies. Easy peasy. Low key.

Overall, he had a great time with friends and family. He is now just ONE birthday way from turning the big EIGHT! Wow, how did we get here so fast??

The No T.V. Challenge

A few weeks ago in FHE we read a story from "The Friend" called "In the Zone". It's a cute story about the all too familiar repercussions from watching too much TV. Something my kids know a little something about. It's really been bothering me lately and I thought the story was perfect for my kids and very easy to relate to. After the story I extended a challenge to them to see if we could go one week without any TV in the mornings while they are getting ready for school. Which majorly slows them down! And no TV after school. Which was interfering with their homework and them choosing TV over friends. Can anyone else relate?? The TV could only come on AFTER dinner. They were a little reluctant at first, okay...maybe a lot, but I'm happy to say we're going on 4 weeks now and they don't even seem to miss it. The house is quieter, the kids are getting out the door to school on time and they are rediscovering board games, coloring books, puzzles, friends and actually playing with each other. I love it. Maybe most of you moms are more on the ball than myself and are already implementing a similar rule in your home. But...if not, I challenge you to do the same on some level and I promise you, you will be asking yourself the same question I have,

"Why didn't we do this years ago?"

Christmas 2010

What a great Christmas season. I sometimes wish the Christmas season lasted just a bit longer because there is such a great feeling this time of year and there is just so much to squeeze in. And this year was no exception. For starts there was no shortage of baking on days on end...

And there has no doubt been a shortage of snow playing and sledding. Anyone else's doorways look like this...

And the Christmas countdown couldn't start quick enough at our house this year. I made a fun advent calendar which was a real hit. Every night (or day, depending on the activity) we would draw a scripture from the envelope that related to the Christmas story. There was also an activity for us to do as a family included as well. We did all sorts of things, such as: watch a Christmas movie, read a Christmas story, bake Christmas treats, sing Christmas carols, etc. The kids looked forward to it everyday! A new tradition for sure.

Christmas Eve was spent at our house and we had lots of family and friends to share it with. We had hot cocoa, egg nog, and enough treats to make you sick! We had a nice Christmas program which included the kids acting out the nativity scene.

We even had a visit from Santa Clause!! Wow, our kids must have been really good this year to get a personal visit from the big guy himself. As you can tell, Landon was thrilled about the whole thing...

Later that night, the kids got their annual Christmas pajamas from "Mrs. Clause". This year Mrs. Clause opted for just pajama bottoms. Gotta put all those t-ball and softball shirts to good use somehow...

Christmas morning was the best. I've decided that Christmas is so much better as a parent than it ever was as a kid. Anyone's family room look like this Christmas morning....

For breakfast we had over some great neighbors, Josh's parents and sister. We had the usual ham & egg puff, creme brule french toast and the much anticipated monkey bread...

This Christmas of 2010 will be a Christmas our family will not soon forget. We have been so blessed with such great family, friends and neighbors. Although I am not too sad to see 2010 end, our family looks forward to a great 2011.

Happy New Year!

A Few of My Favorite Things...

It's the most wonderful time of the year. And the season brings a few of my favorite things...