Blakers

I love this little cookie face :)

January Thaw

It has been beautiful for a couple of days now, so outside we went to let the kids release some pent up energy.


Straight to the mud they went! Boys.
Kyle is wearing his ridiculous Spongebob coat. Why is it that they always love to wear the ugliest clothes in their closet?


Who needs a cup of water when there is delicious muddy snow? Mmmm.


Kyle was betrayed by beloved Dumptruck when it got stuck and he crashed. (He got lots of love and cuddles before and after I took this picture.)


Here is Rachel, who I babysit. She loves Kyle and Blake and does what they do. Cute! It has been fun to watch her grow. My boys really love her too.

Snowmobiles

While my family in Arizona enjoys 70 degree weather, we are stuck with lots of cold and snow. So we might as well enjoy it. It helps if you have a snowmobile or two. Uncle Mike let my kids use the "kitty cat," which is a little kids snowmobile. So we got Kyle and Blake together with cousins Jake and Allie and had fun.

Kyle very quickly got the hang of driving. Guess playing Mario Kart has helped a little.


Dad drove Blake around. Of course he loved it, kept saying "ride, ride."


Cute little Blake all bundled up. It was a beautiful day to be out, sunny and quite warm for January in Northern Utah. It was fun. We may have to get the kids a kitty cat of their own next winter.

Learning Something New

Kyle wrote his name! I thought it was just so cool that he did this! It was during his first day as a CTR 5. Way to go Kyle.
Wow, he's growing up more and more every day.

Eight Years

I am one of the luckiest women to have married Brian. He is so good to me and is a wonderful dad too.

The quality isn't the best because these were scanned in.
Look how young we were!


In front of the bountiful temple the day we got married.

When I look at these I can't help but think that we had no idea what we were in for. Being married has been the happiest time of my life. There have been a few hard times but mostly it has been wonderful. Brian has always been my best friend. He is hilarious, kind, hard working and has a strong testimony. I still get excited when he comes home from work.
I would do it all over again. And I hope to have lots more anniversaries here and the eternities too.
I love you Brian.

Activities

Kyle and Blake, playing with some of their Christmas presents.


Kyle, you handsome little guy!


The paint around Blake's mouth is proof that he still needs to sample things just to find out how they taste.
Thanks to Aunt Dixie for the markers, paint, brushes and paper. They are all very nice! The boys will be busy with these for a while. Thanks again!

More Bouncy Ball Woes

Blake is talking so much now! One of my favorite words he says is "YEAH!" because of the way he says it.
Last time we were at WalMart, as a reward/bribe for being good the whole trip, I told Blake he could have a bouncy ball. I put 2 quarters in my pocket just for this purpose. So, after checkout, I say, "Blake, do you want a ball?" He responds "YEAH!!!" So cute. So we go over to the ball machine, put in the two quarters, turn the handle, and ... nothing comes out! Yes, I got ripped off. Poor Blake. I momentarily forgot that I was at WalMart and figured maybe a manager could assist me. But there are no useful managers to be found there. And since it was four days after Christams, the service desk line was wrapped around the building.
Sorry little buddy. Maybe next time.

White Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We sure did. There is so much snow on the ground I doubt we could even drive down the street if we wanted to. Our laundry room has been transformed into the mud room and we shovel our driveway more often than we get mail. But it is pretty.
It was way more fun to watch the boys open presents than to think of celebrating the last of my twenties as I turned 29 on Christmas Day. Here are some highlights-


Santa brought Kyle an Optimus Prime transformer, which he has been really wanting.


Blake had been so good about not messing with the presents before Christmas. It didn't take him long to get into it.


Sorry about the cropping, but I still liked this picture. We had to go sledding. I never appreciated how much work it is to get two little people bundled up, boots hats gloves, dig out the inner tube and fill it with air. Before we even started I was almost ready to be done.



As is tradition, the kids love the box. Brian made them a little house out of the box my RECLINER came in. Yes, I got a recliner. I am spoiled. It is even a lazy boy. I need it, I'm getting old.
I love Christmas.

Oh the joys of parenthood...

Right after we finished our bathroom, I walked in there to find Blake up to no good. He had done his best to fill the toilet with everything he could think of. When I caught him the wastebasket was upside down in the toilet, the contents floating around. Well, I did my best to resolve the situation. However, it was completely plugged. We tried everything to get it working again. But on day five we realized whatever was in there would not dissolve. So Brian had to once again remove the toilet. Once it was out, we could finally see what had caused the problem. The culprit?

Never would have guessed that a 50 cent bouncy ball could have caused such a problem.

Done

The downstairs bathroom is finished.



Brian did such a good job! Thank you!



Now for the other 100 projects to do around here. :)