Visiting Buttercup Baby and the Gang

Visits from grandma and grandpa can never come enough!

Normally very hesitant to go to others, Mackayla didn't miss a beat running to grandma and grandpa when they got here.

I wonder if facetime has made a difference because these guys are all usually a bit shy at first when they're little.

We of course went over to the coast.

It wasn't freezing cold, technically, but it was dang cold.

I love the rocks that stick out in random places all along the coast.

We stopped at the candy store where they pull taffy. 

Notice their feet:)...

As we hopped out of the car to go to the beach a light rain started.

We gathered pieces of sand dollars and walked out in our rain boots.

The waves always seem to get too high.

So being the prepared mom I am, I had extra sets of pants and socks.

But not shoes.

After that our choices were limited to either buying shoes or going places without shoes.

We opted to drive around enjoying the beautiful scenery along the coast,

(I love seeing this part of the country, it never gets old)

while the kids did this:

We stopped at Del's for rain boots and to see the baby chicks!

 In true Macey-luck, her baby chick pooped all over her hands and jacket.

They are so soft and cute though!

I'm terrible. I either always forgot to take pictures or my camera died just as I got ready to...so this picture is proof that grandpa was there. Look carefully!

They babysat for us while we made another day trek (I got to go this time!) to a job prospect. We got a tour of the town and clinic and a wonderful dinner (I need to be working out not blogging.)

Meanwhile grandma Bonnie cleaned our entire place and papa Jeff changed some lightbulbs in our house-they burn out all the time!-and other maintenance.

I'm not sure you could pay a babysitter enough for everything they did for us.

Grandparents are the best.

I'm sure grandkids agree.

 One of the benefits of them staying at a hotel (aside from some peace and quiet for them at night;)!) is the swimming pool!!

It was mad dashes to the elevator

 Mackayla loves to be big 

Then another mad dash to the pool:

 Macey aka 'Buttercup Baby'

but you can only call her that if you are Papa Jeff

and only if she's happy:)

He was the first to point out that one of Macey's most common phrases is "What the." (nothing else, just that:))

Cody gets poised to race before he dashes across the pool on his back.

I think a hotel pool on a Monday night might be the place where all traveling Utah mormon families go. We met two others in the short time we were there:)

 Just as we dropped them off at their hotel to go home and drove off, Macey let me know that she missed grandma and grandpa.
It will be interesting to see where we end up.
Hopefully somewhere that lets us see them even more!

Loving these years

My husband has been in California for a job interview. Fifteen minutes from the beach. Wouldn't that be nice. Maybe one of the possibilities, but we'll just have to wait and see. The point is, he's been gone and busy, so to find a card and my favorite candy this morning was a sweet surprise!

LOVE YOU!!

At preschool yesterday Macey had made me and Ben a valentine's day card. As she gave it to me in class she said "This is for you and dad because you got married and you love each other."

We are making valentine cookies today.

Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches

by Rachel Jankovic

If you have little kids, Get it, read it. A friend lent it to me. You will thank me. It only takes 2 hours.

It was kind of like Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy was for me when I was pregnant. Funny, informative and not so serious that it's stressful to read. Just pure good advice and a reminder that what you're doing is dang hard and totally worth it.

Something I'm learning to accept is the "slowing down" part of this time of life. This is not common sense to me people. I don't have a hard time understanding why kids can't come to everything but I do want to be the exception. And yes, I understand I'm not. And I'm learning I'm not. I can't always have a babysitter every time I want to do something sans children. So, I can't do certain things I want to do at this point in my life. It's a little depressing if I don't look at the big picture and realize this is such a short time in my life. Just keep it together self. Ben and I had a nice long chat about this last night. This is code for me talking a lot and him patiently listening and then giving me much needed words of wisdom. The answer always seems to be simplify:)

One of my favorite concepts in the motherhood book she writes about is this: your virtues are your vices are your virtues.
A simple way of saying bad characteristics or traits are manifestations of good things and vice versa. Our job is to help shape our children, so learn how to enhance their strengths.
I remember Macey's preschool teacher telling me to take the negative words I think of when describing her and think of positive replacements. i.e. sensitive=compassionate. Your kids hear you talk about them. Every negative behavior has an equally positive attribute. Do it for your husband, too:)
So my next question that formed in my head was: how do you take your vices and make them virtues, or just get rid of them??

Ether 12:27: "If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them."

Weaknesses (like vices) ...are blessings?! HUMILITY is ESSENTIAL. God's grace is too.

We made mac n cheese with gnocchi. Let's call it gnocheese. I did it the lazy way and just used a mac n cheese packet. It's goood. Thanks pinterest.

Macey has really been loving to make her bed lately.

She likes to fold blankets. Cute bum:)

 For Cody's birthday his grandma Sylvia gave him a dollar for each year, then a five for his sixth year. Ten dollars that was burning a hold in his pocket. So after agonizing about getting a toy, we went to a couple stores to find the perfect toy. A remote control spinning race car.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Dinosaur Birthday Party

The morning of Cody's birthday was as exciting as Christmas for the kids. 

Cody woke up early and came in and announced that he felt taller.

I made them all dinosaur spikes on their jackets for the events today.

 I had decorated the room sort of like a dinosaur jungle with vines. Maybe I ran out of steam halfway through. I asked Cody if it looked like vines in a jungle. "No way." (As in, not even a little bit. Not at all.) "Is that a good thing, mom?" he questioned? My family is always pretty honest with me.

"Yes. I don't want it to look like a dinosaur jungle. This {whatever it may be} is perfect," I assured him.

 The party finally started and we shot our little pteradactyls. I had forgotten to seal off the tops so they flew two feet. pfflt. Oh well, they're cute. Next activity. 

The giant ERUPTING volcano! It doesn't look like a volcano but I figured the eruption would make up for that.

Ben threw in the mentos into the coke:

A small tiny puff of smoke mesmerized...nobody. (there's the smoke) 

Oh well. Next activity. We hunted for dinosaur eggs and smashed them open.

Then smashed open a dinosaur egg pinata

The lava cake actually worked. At least something reactive worked:)!

This is the before pic with a little rock candy volcano and toy dinosaurs on the not-so-volcanically-shaped volcano. I loved the tutorial because it kept reassuring me that it's okay if the volcano isn't perfect, it's a geological formation. That's my kind of cake.

We added dry ice and the lava

It gave off some smoke, but wait...

Add water...

And smoke and lava flow out.

Even Macey, not as expressive in her 'impressed' reactions, gave an eye raise.

Friends: Hallie, CD, Jax, Maddyx, Tessa, Dreyton, Lizzie

Happy Birthday "bigger-than-a-6-year-old Cody." Now you are 6.

He has such a grateful heart and truly loves every present he was given. He is so easy to please and could not have been more thrilled with his party.

From family Grandma Sylvia sent him marbleworks

Cousin Clayton and Brody gave him their favorite book

He chose some trains and a Nerf gun

And Grandma Bonnie and Papa Jeff are coming to visit this week! (Happy Anniversary today!)

We love you Cody!!

Nothing in Particular

We've been getting ready for Cody's birthday this week.

I'm a list maker. Nothing makes me happier than crossing things off.

Last week Cody asked me when I was going to make a list of party things for his birthday.

It's funny what he remembers from last year's party, but that was an important part.

He is somewhat particular about the decorations.

He spent some time choosing a face for his invitations. A friend, Amy, used her awesome silhouette to cut these out for us:

Cody was pleased.

He can't wait for his birthday!

He requested straw shooters again, so I made flying pteradactyls:

I have recruited him to help me with getting ready this year.

 The kids had colds earlier this week, but Mackayla has been the most sick this week. Can't wait til she's better so life can go on. 

I told her she looked so pretty in this outfit and five minutes later she insisted that I take it off.

And went and got several more items to put on.

Sometimes she will refuse to give someone a good night kiss, but give everyone else one. So funny.

While sometimes on her hit list, most of the time she loves Cody!

He's so cute with her and she's tough enough to keep up with him.

 I finished my tree skirt, just in time for Christmas...at the end of this year. Better late than never.

Visualize a tree not a child.

Here's the right holiday. Happy upcoming Valentine's Day.

 Macey's prayers for the last month or more have included "thank you that our house and the world don't explode." I really can't figure out where the inspiration for that came from. It was kind of funny on Dec 21, 2012 the Mayan calendar end, when she innocently prayed for that.

This is one of her favorite activities. We might have to start having "battery earning" jobs? Something like that.

Employment opportunities are popping up here and there. It's such a roller coaster looking for a job, imagining if you could live there, finding out details, wondering, praying, a whole lot of praying, not planning further than a couple months out, not feeling settled because we might move.

All things that everyone has probably felt at some point in their lives.

I love the idea of having some stability.

I worry that it won't be a perfect fit, but understand it doesn't have to be.

I worry that it will be a perfect fit and we'll be in the same place for the rest of our lives.

I love the idea of exploring a new area.

I don't like not knowing what's in the future.

I do love the excitement and anticipation of finding out.

I do want a place to call home, because we'll be staying there for a substantial amount of time, (preferably longer than a year). For now, home is where your heart is!

Actually "home" to me is still in Utah with our families:)

It sounds like I don't know what I want. I don't.

Luckily, it doesn't matter. 

The only things I know for certain at this point are: we are supposed to be where we are right now, and  we will be led to where we're supposed to be next.

Do you know you are where you're supposed to be?

Lost Tooth

Cody lost his second front tooth and 4th tooth total!

Looks a little less mcgoo without that huge lopsided front tooth now:)

but he's pretty cute either way

That night Cody couldn't find his tooth anywhere, so we wrote a note to the tooth fairy saying he lost it.

The tooth fairy found it...supposedly. phew.

 I forgot a bib for this munchkin...remind me when they stop spilling??

Also cute though.