Please Sleep In!

   We've been in AZ for over two months now and I think Nolan is finally getting back to the schedule we had him on in TX. There are many people who claim they, "need their sleep," in this world, and I am one of them.
 I took these pictures at the end of May but they still make me laugh. After Bear woke up way too early I got him out of his cage crib so he would stop crying and counted down the minutes until Tim would wake up I could go back to bed. This happened quite a few mornings (still does) but I felt bad for Tim when I woke up to this:

It's so hard to get anything done with that little boy wrapped around your leg. I've tried to perfect the art myself but he just doesn't walk as quickly as I do.

Bear, please sleep in!

G.G.'s Birthday

Back in June (that feels so long ago) we got to take my Grandma out for her birthday! My Grandma is good-looking and such a fun person to be around! We love you G.G.!

Luckily Tim was driving, so we headed to one of Grandma's favorite spots, In-N-Out. (I get my lack of direction from her :)). It was a treat for all of us.

Earlier in the day my sister made delicious cupcakes for us to devour at night. I don't know what Grandma's wish was, but it may have had something to do with hoping the baby next to her would stop crying! :)

Food always does the trick with this kid...

  I love being close to my grandma. Not only does she save us seats at church, but Kyle and her have a special relationship that is so fun to watch. Kyle is not a cuddly person by nature, but he will give his G.G. hugs and is always excited to see her. My grandma is also known as, "The One and Only," because let's face it, there is only one like her! We love you!

Home

  Arizona is starting to feel like home. Normally when we come to AZ it is for a week or two and I feel the need to eat all the good Mexican food I can, visit with family and friends and quickly soak in everything I love about AZ. I had that feeling for awhile when we first moved here and things were just down right crazy, but life is starting to calm down a bit. I still can't figure out why I feel so busy all the time. It may have something to do with entertaining my crazy monsters and keeping this place clean, but I think I am starting to get into a groove and can breathe a little slower.

  I feel like both boys have done well adjusting. Kyle showed a lot of his signs of anxiety when we first moved; biting his nails, freaking out if he didn't know where I was, etc., but I feel like he has calmed down. He starts preschool on Monday and I am so excited for him. He is such a social bee. Tim and I call him, "everyone's best friend," because he loves to jump right in and play with whoever he is with. He tells me that, "Texas is old!" but wonders why Papa and Grandma had to go on a mission and why Unkie had to go to college. He definitely misses having them around. He has been really good for me lately and I'm hoping this is a corner we have turned. I just love that little boy.

  Nolan prefers to spend his day holding onto someone's hand while he walks around the house. I think he could walk if he wants to but just doesn't feel the need to yet. He is our little biting bear which makes it hard when other kids are around. He still cuddles and gets so excited when Tim walks through the door. He is constantly eating and I have a hard time thinking what to feed him next. He loves all berries, turkey and has recently discovered fruit snacks, but marshmallows are his favorite. There's something about that boy that just melts me.

  Tim has spent his entire time here studying and takes the bar tomorrow. We are all nervous, excited for it to be over and hopeful that he'll pass. I'm so proud of all the studying he's done. He's managed to stay calm and help out around here when he can. He has a knack for rarely complaining which I just find amazing. We are excited to see his face a little more!

  I am learning how to balance more things than I'm used to and it has been fun and challenging. I have loved being back in AZ. Whenever I drive around I can't believe how much cleaner it feels than San Antonio and I am not missing the humidity in SA! I miss my friends from SA and Sea World, but now that our house sold, I feel like we are closing the book on TX. I miss my parents but love reading their blog and I know they are doing an awesome job in Argentina. I'm just hoping the skype connection gets a little better! I feel very blessed to have family nearby and friends that keep me company whenever I need it. Now if I can only get this blog caught up...
 

This Weekend...

This weekend I decided to be brave and drive the boys to California so I could be at my cousin's wedding while Tim stayed in AZ and continued to study for the bar.

Because of this I am now recovering. I have yet to determine how long this will take.

Good-bye

    After sending Taylor off to BYU, we got ready to take my parents to the airport. I was going to see them in SLC when they got set apart and before they entered the Missionary Training Center, but this would be it for the boys. Earlier that morning my mom and dad had given a book to each boy that they had recorded reading. Kyle loved listening to his Cars book read by Papa!

And Papa held the book for Nolan to enjoy. I think his favorite is my mom's voice singing, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Papa and Kyle also got in their special hand shake. They start out by saying, "Do you want to be cool like us?" It's hilarious. (And a little bit nerdy too! haha!)

Last group photo.

  After photos my parents said their good-byes to the boys and we loaded up to take them to the airport. Between watching Taylor leave for college, my parents saying bye to the boys and realizing my parents were officially leaving the comforts of their home for three years, it was a very emotional day for me. I can only imagine how they felt :).
   It was sad for me to think of the boys not having their grandparents here, but I am so thankful for skype, phone calls and those sweet books my parents left for them. I think Kyle knows how important it is that his Papa and Grandma go on a mission. On the way to the airport he asked Papa where his scriptures were. He knew that if Papa was going on a mission he should have his scriptures with him. It was the cutest thing. What an incredible example my parents are being to my little future missionaries.

Sweet Serenade

Before Bear goes down for his nap and bedtime I sing, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Lately Kyle runs into Nolan's room before I'm about to put Nolan down so that he can sing too. Here is this evening's performance for you:

I love that Nolan doesn't seem to mind, no matter how off-key the serenade is.

Sounds Perfect!

Tim was looking at booking a hotel near the place where he will take the bar. There were two hotels he was looking into and one was a bit cheaper. I suggested to Tim that he look up some reviews online. He asked me, "It's just a hotel. How bad can it be?"

  Well, he came across a review that said the hotel was, "haunted." This is how the director of sales at that hotel responded:

June 20, 2011

We are listed on several websites as a haunted hotel 1 being our own.We are list as the 3rd haunted hotel in the USA. We do not alway have active such as you wrote in the review. We offer Ghost Tours 3 months out of the year and are doing ghost tour the first Friday of each month until October. We are a historcial hotel dating back to 1928 and have housed may stars such as Mae West, Marilyn Morroe, Spencer Tracey, Ingrid Bergman to name a few. In 1976 Hollywood hornored us with the walk of gold stars. The rooms are boutiqe with the ambiance of Italian renaissance inspired architecture with rare antiques and fine artwork throughout the hotel to the unique rooftop swimming pool and sundeck. The experience of old world elegance meets modern day convenience .

   Hmmm. You offer Ghost Tours? The hauntings aren't always "active?"

Looks like we'll be paying a few more dollars to ensure an unaccompanied good night's sleep.

Honesty

"Mom! You need to exercise so your belly will go DOWN. Cause, cause right now it's big and you got a big 'ol belly."


That should be enough to motivate me, right?
Thanks Kyle.