Yay for little triumphs

Life is so good right now. I always have mixed emotions in declaring that to myself because I worry what is right on the heels of all this peace and contentment! But I can't be ungrateful to the Lord for what I have so I just have to say it anyway. LIFE IS GOOD! I am completely enjoying this stage of my kid's lives. I can say that despite the fact that we are potty training Ellie. I say about a million times a day that I HATE POTTY TRAINING! But in all actuality Ellie is doing really well.

She will have accidents here and there but she goes in and gets new clothes and puts her dirty ones in the hamper by herself so my work load is reduced. I mean really! No major life struggles there. Plus it is so cute when she has a triumph. Usually she is so-so about the latest deposit until I start jumping around like a maniac cheering. Then she gets the cutest grin on her face. For the first few days, whenever she had a success we had to call and tell daddy. So now if I put the phone up to her ear when Justin calls, she immediately, with an air of boredom, says "Ellie go potty." I guess that is now the new standard of what to say to your dad on the phone. Do I have to say that when I talk to my dad on the phone? Because I'm pretty sure his excitement of my ability to use the potty has long since past.

Life marches on

So far this year has been one of great happiness, excitement, growth, difficulty, bumps, bruises, heartache and joy. (I won't mention the busy-ness. EVERYONE is busy right now!) And it's only April! One constant thread through it all has been my amazing husband and my love for him, and also my three amigos. My kids make each day worth getting up. I have had several poignant experiences this past couple of months that have made me cherish them more than I ever have.
So...since we have been absent on the blog scene for a long while and it would take WAY too much time to update everything, I will copy a smart idea Justin's cousin has and quickly highlight.

Justin turning 31: Ellie saying her first full sentence: Matthew developing a desire for Saturdays way too early: Mia starting "real" soccer: a new highly demanding church calling (I will never complain about any church leader ever again..not that I ever did before): a loss of a grandpa: the birth of a nephew (finally!): a trip to Disneyland: Ellie turning 2: a heartbreaking loss: an exciting new arrival in Sept.: me turning 30 (what the?): new friends: a job change: lots of hugs: growing testimonies and love for the gospel.

BYU-Oklahoma game

Justin has been bugging me to get our trip to Dallas for the BYU game up on the blog for a while. Why you ask? Purely for bragging rights to all our BYU fan friends and family, I'm sure. It was about the funnest game ever and we LOVED it. Plus going without the kids was a bit of a bonus. (Thanks Lesha and Dave!) We got to go with my mom and dad and had a blast with them!

This is the Oklahoma side right after BYU won. (Notice all the empty seats?)

...And here's the BYU side. All the BYU fans stuck around, we were all so excited.

Oklahoma fans were, I think, the nicest, most cordial, gracious fans I've ever encountered. And I have been to some games where we have had to deal with some pretty rough, foul mouthed rival fans. So thanks to Oklahoma fans for making the game even more enjoyable.

Fort Worth was Justin's mission so this trip had double purpose for us. He took me all over his mission and we even got to go visit a lady that he taught. (Love you Gloria!) This was his apartment in one of his areas. (Can you tell he looks thrilled to be posing for a picture in front of someone's apartment?)

Mia's Birthday

Mia turned 4 a couple of weeks ago, and being the slacker mom that I am didn't get it up on the blog before she pointed out that her birthday pictures weren't on the "bloggy" (every word ends in "y" these days). What the heck?! I don't blog very often and my 4-year-old still noticed the discrepancy. So here she is...

Very excited that she now has a girl bike. She was very done with the tonka truck hand-me-down bike from Matthew.

When I asked what kind of cake Mia wanted she immediately said "pink cookie monster".

A little random (okay, a lot random) but the great thing about Mia is that she is very decisive and doesn't take FOREVER deciding on something (nudge, nudge Matthew and Daddy).

She got to have her first friend party and decided on Strawberry Shortcake. We had 17 kids(ACK!!!) ranging from 1-5 in our small house at one time so... very chaotic!. Though, Mia assured me that it was the "most awesomest party in history" so it was a success.

My baby is in school!

I have to say that I have LOVED this summer. We have enjoyed every second as we have lived it up before Matthew started school. Incidentally, several things got put on the back burner, including my blog, as I spent all my time enjoying my kids so here is an update.

Matthew is now a kindergartener. He loves school and is so excited each morning to get to go. He says his teacher is nice and he likes his class but I think the majority of his excitement stems from getting to ride the bus.

This is him sitting with his class not even looking back at me as I (silently) bawl in the back of the room. He was unaffected by the separation which is a good thing I guess. Not too fun for me but I survived.

Princess Festival

This week Mia got to go with mommy to the Princess Festival. She dressed in her Tinkerbell dress and got to make a crown and a wand. She went around with all the other little princesses and the blue fairy to save Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty from the dark fairy. The Foundation "In Our Own Quiet Way" which provides relief for children in Kenya, put the festival on for the girls and Mia and I had a blast. She felt very special and she even got a free real pearl necklace which she wore to church a few days after. Although the main highlight for Mia was the playground with swings. Go figure, I could have saved the money and just taken her to a park in her Tinkerbell dress! All of the volunteers were dressed in princess gowns and it was very well done. Definitely something my girls and I will try to go to next year.

Princess Mia in her carriage on her way to the ball.

Little Tinkerbell got to "fly" with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. She even got to blow fairy dust to give her the magic of flight.

Mia's very favorite princess, Sleeping Beauty. She adores her for no other reason than that she has a pink dress; surprise, surprise. Mia was terrified of all the princes and wouldn't go anywhere near them. I guess she figured that those boys did not belong at our "girl's day".

The blue fairy and all the little princesses on their quest to save the storybook princesses. Mia is, of course, hanging away from the group in the very back. Less claustrophobic that way.

Trip back east!

Now that we have FINALLY transitioned to high-speed internet, I can post about our trip back east! It was the first trip Justin and I have taken sans kids since before our kids were born. It was a little strange to be without them. I didn't realize how much the kids' bedtime routine actually helped ME to go to sleep. I woke up several times during each night out of habit but it was nice to not have to get out of bed in the middle of the night for nightmares etc. We went to visit my brother, his wife and their adorable baby girl in Baltomore. We got to go to Gettysburg, Valley Forge, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero (very sobering) and Carnegie Hall to list the major sights. My sister's choir group from Provo High (love you Shar!) was the featured choir at Carnegie Hall. Going to see her perform at such a prestigious place was the basis and main reason for our trip. It was a great trip and I am VERY grateful to my in-laws for braving my three crazies for an entire week.

This photo prop was for kids but I was able to talk Justin into a picture. He was not at all embarrassed to stand in line behind a group of small kids waiting to be George Washington!

One of the cannons at Gettysburg. This place was very cool and a must see for anyone doing a trip in the Pennsylvania area.

Going to the Statue of Liberty. Such a touristy thing but something everyone must do at least once in their lives.

All the construction at Ground Zero. It is incredible to see a huge hole in the middle of downtown New York City. Construction is slow-going and still underway eight years after 9-11. My sister's choir group sang at the site and did a great job.

A memorial at the fire station across from Ground Zero that lost nearly 200 firefighters in the aftermath of the attack.