Sixth Birthday Party

This year Kyle had a combined birthday party with his cousin, Logan. They are just a couple of weeks apart and in the same Kindergarten class this year. Since we would be inviting the same cousins and the same class, Laurie and I just did it together!

  It was a reptile/Duck Dynasty/camo party. Yah, so we really didn't have a set theme but it was cute nonetheless. I called my mom to make sure she was ok with us having the party at the house because it wasn't our usual list of guests (aka snakes). I was nervous since I didn't know most of the kids and a lot were coming, but except for a few I would say that Kyle has a great class! Bless his teacher. I think there are 20 boys and 6 girls in his class.

 Rich the reptile man came. He does an hour presentation that is entertaining for both kids and adults. Unfortunately I'd say about half of the kids were terrified, but I guess they will always remember the party? I love the smiles in this pic!

 A captivated audience:

 Kyle a little unsure:

See that weird mark? I need to get my camera cleaned. Anyone know how I do that?

 Rich kept his reptiles in tupperware and in the big coolers the boys were sitting on. There was a lot of screaming (and laughing) during the presentation, and at this point the kids were wondering what was coming next.

It was Tebow the rhinoceros iguana! Nolan loved this part and talks about it because Tebow would not stay on his diaper!

 Oh the drama...

 Oh my sweet Bear... I love that he his peeking with one eye.

The boys didn't want to stand like a tree, so Aunt Laurie stepped up to the plate. I would have been willing to but he didn't ask for any other volunteers. Oh darn ;). 

 Ok this is so creepy!!

I was proud of Kyle for walking around with this snake. I could tell he was nervous he was going to drop it.

At one point Rich did let whoever wanted to come and have a snake around their neck. I didn't get very many pics of this because all of a sudden there was a long line of Kindergartners who needed to use the bathroom. Wow his teacher must have a lot of patience.

 Oh yes, also proud of him for doing this. This python eats a pig once a month. It takes it 3 weeks to digest the bones and everything.

 Happy 6th birthday son. Let's think of something terrifying to celebrate!!

 The kids did like petting the reptiles.

Even Bear perked up and got brave. It's so fun to see them overcome their fear!

Side note: Rich ended up doing a presentation at Kyle's school a couple of days later. I'm so glad we had the party first or we would have been old news!

Cake time:

The handsome duo with their cake. It cracked me up that they chose this over Star Wars:

Logan is looking for more candles... Good thing Kyle didn't notice. 

We had a great time! My ears hurt from all of the screaming but overall it was a big success. I love you Kyle. You are my handsome Kyle Boy. You are so smart and thoughtful. You make me feel loved and have taught me so much. Happy 6th Birthday!!

6 year old Q & A

It was so fun to look back at Kyle's Q and A's from when he was five. Here are his answers. Straight from the 6 year old's mouth!

1. What is your favorite color? blue
2. What is your favorite toy? Legos
3. What is your favorite fruit? blueberries
4. What is your favorite tv show? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? bean burrito
6. What is your favorite outfit? Ninja Turtle shirt I bought with my own money
7. What is your favorite game? my x-box game (Disney Rush)
8. What is your favorite snack? frozen blueberries
9. What is your favorite animal? rhinoceros and dog
10. What is your favorite song? Catch a Grenade for You, I want to be a Billionaire, Battle Hymn of the Republic 
11. What is your favorite book? Ninja Turtle book from Kate, Macy and Pierce
12. Who is your best friend? Logan
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play soccer and basketball
15. What is your favorite drink? root beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My stuffed animals. 
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cinnamon Toast Crunch
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Dominos Pizza

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Police Officer, I mean a zombie.

  

Nolan was nearby and politely asked if I could ask him the questions too. Here is Nolan at 3 1/2 years old:

1. What is your favorite color? black  
2. What is your favorite toy? boxing gloves
3. What is your favorite fruit? apples
4. What is your favorite tv show? Team Umizoomi
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Corn dog
6. What is your favorite outfit? Curious George shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Dance on the x-box
8. What is your favorite snack? granola bars
9. What is your favorite animal? monkeys and even some rabbits and bunnies
10. What is your favorite song? Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho
11. What is your favorite book? 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
12. Who is your best friend? Andrew and Whitman
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? jump on the tramp
15. What is your favorite drink? Root beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My stuffed animals
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cinnamon Life
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Domino's Pizza

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A farm guy because I want to take care of animals. I will leave the eggs all the long day and then they could hatch. 

Young Women in Excellence

On December 4th we celebrated, "Young Women in Excellence." It's a night where the girls ages 12-17 in my ward share with us some of the goals they accomplished throughout the year. I was in charge of it this year and I really felt like I had no clue if I was planning it right, but I think it turned out cute. The theme I chose was, "Becoming Spiritually Fit." I was really listening to October General Conference with the hope of finding a theme in mind. This talk by Richard J. Maynes really stuck out to me and is where my theme originated from.

The invite:

The refreshment table:

We tried to do a mostly healthy theme. Veggie tray, hummus and chips, smoothie drinks, fruit kabobs, personal fruit pizzas and water.

Blurry pic. My camera was being so weird:

The main decor table:

I made tissue pom-poms out of every Personal Progress value and placed them in front of pages I downloaded and framed about each value. Our Young Women's president made the cute glittered frames and we displayed a picture of each girl and the value she talked about in front of the value. I was able to take most of the girls' pictures near the new Gilbert temple.

It was kind of hard because the girls came in two cars and the first carload the lighting was a lot better but I'm still satisfied with what I got.

For the program, I first introduced the theme and gave a short talk. Then I had each girl talk on a certain Personal Progress value and how accomplishing goals in that value area had helped them become more, "spiritually fit." The Bishop also talked about the importance of becoming spiritually fit and how the temple helps us do that and blesses us. It was a quick, uplifting night. Just the way I like it. (I get ADD in long meetings).

Oh, I forgot. The exercise sweat band colors matched the value they spoke on as well. We had a couple new beehives that I assigned to do the opening and closing prayer :). 

     I originally tried copying an idea of Pinterest, but it was clear that the Lord wanted me to use my own brain instead. I am grateful I had the opportunity to study the talk by Elder Maynes and to think about how important it is to continually nourish and take care of our testimonies, just like it is important to take care of our bodies. The Church is true! I love it and I  love working with these girls.

Halloween 2013

Kyle decided that this year he wanted to be a Zombie Skeleton. I thought he had created a costume until I came across a lady in Ocotillo selling this for $8! I was sooo happy! Even happier when a few days after I bought it I saw it in the Party City magazine for almost $40.

Nolan's costume I found at Kid-to-Kid for $8. I had both costumes ready before October had even come and for under $20. I was a happy mom! It ended up being a blessing as I got sick really close to Halloween.

 I tried to see if Bear wanted something else, or a more soldier-like helmet to go with the costume, but he loved it. He was the cutest little soldier, or, "army guy."

 On Halloween and at the ward Trunk or Treat Kyle's costume was a hit! Everyone said how scary he looked, which of course made Kyle happy. I didn't even think about it until people pointed out to me how usually 5 year olds aren't into stuff like that yet. Of course my Kyle Boy was the exception.

Before and even now, we will randomly find Kyle sprawled out on the ground like this. When I walk into the kitchen he starts to, "raise from the dead." It's hilarious and makes my day when I find him like this.

The other highlight of Halloween this year was picking up GG to go to Trunk or Treat. We loved her costume, especially her mustache! These boys have so much fun with GG!

My boys loved the gift cards to frozen yogurt our overly generous neighbors gave them. Kyle loved the Snickers and Milky Ways and Nolan loved, "Sweethearts." (Sweet Tarts). 

I love these boys! I love their differences and seeing them interact with each other. 

Being Grateful

I think it's so easy to get in the mindset where you compare yourself to others, or think about things you wish you could have-- things that even seem totally logistical and more of a need than a want at times. I seem to go through periods where I am more at peace with what I have than at other moments. I realize it's an attitude and something I have a choice over. If I choose to be grateful, my life is happier and I see the beauty in a simple life.
   I have been really grateful lately that my Heavenly Father has blessed me with an abundance of love for my two little boys. I know it sounds cliche, but I just LOVE them! They are sweet and I love them. They are rascals who drive me to tears and I still love them. I feel like my heart is just filled to the max with love for them and gratitude that I get to be their mama. I think a lot of this has to do with the fun ages they are at. Kyle and Nolan are so opposite from each other in most ways, so they always keep me on my toes. I am grateful for the little boys that they are and the things that they teach me daily.

Kyle
  Kyle loves Kindergarten. He has a desire to choose the right. He is still Mr. Social and loves to have play-dates with friends. He loves adventure. He is an excellent reader and very smart. I am always amazed at his attention to detail. Kyle's behavior has really improved this year. His tantrums are occurring less often (Hallelujah!). He loves Ninja Turtles, Ninjago, being with Tim, root beer, baby doggie and is really into counting money. He often takes my planner and fills in things. For example, he wrote "Fast Sunday," really big on the first Sunday of every month in my calendar. He also wrote birthdays and other funny things. It makes me smile to see his handwriting. He is now interested in cursive. Kyle is always listening to our conversations and wants to know what we are talking about. He gets this from me. I hate to be out of the know :). He is very sensitive to my feelings. He says the most faithful prayers. When Kyle prays for me I know it will help. If Kyle could be granted one wish right now I think it would be to have karate lessons. Hopefully one day we'll be able to do that for him. Either that or to get money. Ha. He is such a handsome boy and getting so tall!

Nolan
 Mr. Bear is just downright hilarious. He is a handful in the funniest of ways and so I'm afraid I'm not good at disciplining him since I am often just laughing instead. He is witty and quick with his responses. He also has the biggest love for life that is such a gift. I say it's hard to have a bad day when I'm with such a happy person all day. Tim and I literally lose count of how many times he says he loves us in a day. Nolan is always telling me, "Mama, I love _____."  Nolan is addicted to baked goods. When he's not thinking about donuts, he's thinking about cinnamon rolls, muffins or cookies. He still loves to run errands. Last time we were at Costco a lady heard him tell me, "Mama, I just love Costco," and she smiled so big. A couple of weeks ago he finally started to play by himself. He wants someone by him all the time and so it is hard to get anything done during the day. He loves when his, "Kyle boy," is home and I am happy to say that they finally play pretty well together. We tried teaching Nolan how to ride the bike with training wheels last week and it was like walking with a blind person on a bike. He was too busy noticing the birds in the sky or the planted flowers to watch where he is going. If Nolan could be granted one wish right now it would be to have a baby bunny as a pet. He loves small animals and thinks if he had one, they would sleep in his bed with him. I told him that wouldn't happen, so he agreed to getting a cage. 

A couple of months ago I was having a hard day and crying in bed. The boys walked in and saw me upset. They said they were going to get something to help me. So what did they bring back? A bag of m and m's and a big bottle of pepto bismol. It made me laugh so hard! Chocolate and medicine! It was so loving of them though to think that they could help their mama. See how sweet they are? I just wanted to write down some things about this age so I will remember! I love my boys!

My Sweet Elle

At the end of April I got to watch my cute niece Elle while her parents celebrated my brother-in-law, Sam's, graduation by going on a trip to Mexico. It was so special for me to be able to enjoy her for those couple of days. She is so cute and entertaining.

     When we first found out that my parents would be serving a three year mission, I remember my sister saying to me, "If I have a baby while they are gone will you come out and help me?" Of course I said, "Yes!" and even offered to be her doula, but for some reason she never took me up on that part.

  When Curtis and Candace went to Argentina to see my parents last year I had agreed to watch their son Reed. We figured out the dates and felt like it was far enough from Alli's due date that I would be able to go be with her and then come home to watch Reed. As time got closer to Candace and C-bug's departure date, and Bubby was still a beautiful prego, it was looking like I would not be able to be with Alli until after they returned and Elle would be a couple of weeks old. As plan B, I figured out a date that I could fly out once Curtis and Candace returned home, and then they would help watch the boys so that I could go be with Bubby.

   

   Well, the more evident it became that I would not be there right after the delivery, the more I was starting to lose sleep. My mind would race at night. I had once felt peaceful about going to Alli's after my brother's trip to Argentina, but now I felt like I needed to get out to Utah sooner after the birth rather than later. I called Candace and expressed my thoughts and we came up with a plan that when they left to Argentina, I would fly a few days later to Utah with my nephew Reed. 

Reed would go to his wonderful Grandma Denise's house, and I would go be with Bubby, Sam and Elle. After my time there, I would fly back home to AZ with Reed and continue watching him until his parents returned. It was a crazy plan that involved a lot of details from everyone, but once it was made I was able to sleep again at night!

  It was such a treat to cuddle my newborn niece and to see my little sister as a new mom. 

I also had a fun time with my RooBear. He was a great travel companion!

  What no one was expecting was that my mom would have a stroke while Curtis and Candace were in Argentina. Soon the pieces to this big puzzle began to make sense. The Lord had put so many of us in different places for a reason. What a blessing it was that Curtis, Candace, and my niece Charlotte were with my parents for the days leading up to the stroke, and when it happened. What a blessing that Denise and I were able to be with Reed.

  Two weeks after my mom had her stroke I was on a plane to Buenos Aires so that I could be there as she began her rehabilitation. It was while I was waiting for my plane out of Phoenix that I had realized it was also the day in my, "plan B," that I would have been arriving in Utah to be with my sister. I am so grateful I was prompted to change my plan B (even though it meant a lack of sleep :)), and that so many people were willing to change their schedules to make it happen. Alli being accepting of my crazy schedule, Denise taking off work to watch Reed, Candace listening to my concerns and being up for making it work without any hesitation. And of course TRay, he's the quiet supporter through all of my craziness every day! Had I stuck with plan B, it probably would have been over 2 months after Elle's birth that I would have arrived in Utah. I don't know that me being there really made much of a difference in my sister's recovery, but it meant so much to me to be there and to try to help her like my mom would have. As I waited to board the plane to Buenos Aires, I felt blessed and grateful that I had already had that opportunity.

 I wanted to record this lengthy series of events as a reminder that our Heavenly Father is aware of all of our needs. He knows more than us. He loves each one of us. And also, that family bonds are one of the best things ever created.

Happy First Birthday Eleanor Rae! I am so proud to be your aunt!