Thankful

Grateful for my family.

Grateful for the gospel.

Grateful for the spirit.

Grateful we followed the prompting of the spirit.

Grateful to be in Idaho. 

Life is good. And Thanksgiving was a great day to remember all the things I am grateful for. This year I am especially thankful for my family. As long as I am with my husband and boys, my heart is full and happy. And there is nothing better than that. 

Milestones

This week has been a good week. Everyone had some sort of milestone or celebration. In order from oldest to youngest. 

Scott. 

Scott turned the big 3-1. We celebrated by taking taking a day trip to Idaho Falls. We went out to lunch, hit sportsman warehouse, took the kids to the toy store and checked out a few different neighborhoods (since we'll be moving there in a couple months). It was pretty low key, but so fun to spend the day as a family. 

Stacey. 

Stacey, A week short of a the halfway mark in this pregnancy and it's really starting to hit me that I'm going to have FOUR boys. I'm so excited to welcome this new sweet child into our crazy circus family. When I was sure we were done having kids, I gave all our baby clothes and other stuff away. So I'm a little stressed that we don't have much for new baby boy, but I'm sure it will work out fine. He is getting bigger by the week and his movement are becoming more and more distinct. I can't wait to have a newborn again.

Tayden. 

Tayden had his first day of Idaho kindergarten!! He goes full day every Wednesday and Friday and every other Monday. I was concerned about this schedule, but so far so good. He loves it. He loves eating in the cafeteria and playing at recess. I picked him up the first day and before we could even get to th car he grabbed my hand and with a huge smile said, "Mom! My first day was so great." It was the cutest thing. He got a little lost the first day going to the recess from lunch. He told me he explained the situation to a teacher and asked for help. I am so proud of this brave boy. He took a hard scary situation and did the right thing. Makes my heart burst with pride. 

Beckett. 

It's no secret that Beckett wants nothing to do with school work. Or any sort of fine motor skill learning. He's quite opposite from his older brother in that department. Every spare moment he has had has gone towards speech. So school work, coloring, drawing etc has taken back seat. I started to recognize his need for extra help a few weeks ago, and now that things have finally settled down a bit, I have started to work with him more. I tried everything I could to make it fun, but he wasn't responding. Finally, I cracked down and was a little mean about it. He actually responded fairly well. When we work on speech he has to do something right so many times before he gets a reward. I tried the same approach with writing and he's done well. He's got a long way to go, but is getting better everyday. This picture was taken about a week ago, but it was the first thing he worked really hard on and put effort into. He drew his friend Paige a rainbow and again, my heart beamed with pride. 

Cache.

Cache is potty trained!! Well, mostly. He's only had about 2 accidents over the course of a week. It's quite remarkable really. But he is still working on the poo part. I'm not sure what the deal is, but he hasn't taken that quite on as quickly. Which is weird, because he was pooping in the potty without issue a few weeks ago. Either way, I'm so incredible proud of him and am sure he'll get the hang of the rest of it soon enough. 

Happy for such a positive week!! 

Lovers of snow

The boys have a new love. Snow. It has been such a pleasure watching them experience snow, for basically the first time. Tayden and Beckett played in it two years ago, but B didn't remember much and Cache hasn't had real experience with it. So it's been fun. The first day it barely snowed they couldn't wait to get out in it. So we put coats on and went to play. 

They were a little (and by little I mean a lot) bummed they didn't have their full snow gear yet and got wet and cold faster than they would have liked. Beckett cried and cried because he, "Missed the snow". He thought that was all the snow we'd get to play in all year and he didn't even have the right kind of clothes to make a snowman or play. The few minutes in the skiff was super fun though and enough to start the obsession.  I was able to round up some good yard sale deals over the next two days and have all three boys fully loaded with coats, snow bibs, hats, gloves and boots. They could not be happier. Especially since the snow really started coming down. 

Beckett was thrilled he didn't miss the snow. All day they looked out the window watching the snow accumulate. And every morning, they wake up and get their snow clothes on. They hate taking their snow pants off and would sleep in them if we let them. They are 100% fully enamored by the snow. 

Which is fun, because I am 100% enamored by them. 

It's going to be a great winter. 

We made it

We're finally in Idaho. What an exhausting week, both emotionally and physically. Saying goodbye to my friends was much much harder than I anticipated. It was gut wrenching. And true to my exhausted form as of late...I'm keeping this short. 

The last night in Las Vegas was rough. I drown all my sorrows in chips and salsa. Of course without furniture or bowls, I got comfy on the floor and ate straight from the jar. 

I was super nervous for the drive. Turns out I was worried for no reason. The boys were awesome and did remarkably well on the drive. They each had a notebook and pen, a mcdonalds toy and two suckers. We told lots of stories, played games, laughed and just talked to pass the time. It was wonderfully unexpected. Tayden was my designated helper and handed out everything. I couldn't have done it without him. 

After a few days in the car and a lot of chaos, I decided it would be good for the kids to get out and do something fun. My mom and I took the kids to Lowes to a building workshop. They built a science lab. They loved hammering the nails. And even though it was much harder than it should have been, we got it done. And the boys looked adorable while doing it 

We're all glad to be here and are ready to get settled in. Hopefully as we do, we'll get back into a grove and I'll fall into a better routine. As hard and tiring as things have been, my heart knows this is the right move. And that helps make everything worth it. 

This and that

The past few days have been full of emotions and ups and downs. This move is going to be hard to swallow. But today, I am only focusing on happy memories and pictures. 

Halloween was great. Per tradition, we went trick or treating with our clan. The kids had a blast and came home with a boat load of candy. The adults enjoyed the nice evening and spending much of it laughing the night away. 

The next morning my friends and I enjoyed breakfast and a pedicure. It was so wonderful to spend the morning with them chatting and just being in their presence. They gave me the most thoughtful gift I have ever received. A beautiful Nevada necklace to always remind me that there are people here who love me. And to show everyone that I have left a piece of my heart in Nevada. I am going to miss these girls with a fierceness I can not explain. But as I said before, today is for happy memories and pictures. 

After breakfast was over, we hit the park for Taydens t-ball party. It was cold, but that didn't stop the kids from having fun. Tayden had such a great year and had a really great couch. He was so excited to get his first trophy ever and promised to keep it the rest of his life. He also received his baseball plaque and a game ball. 

It has been a fun few days. Time is winding down and we'll be leaving in just four short days. It breaks my heart, but....today is for happy memories and pictures. So I'll leave it at that.