bowling

one of the funnest parts of going bowling is the shoes. both elliot and sam asked if they could take their's home.

it was such a blast to go bowling with cyndi and tommy and their kids while they were here. our kids got along the entire weekend! here's gabe, sam, abby, and elliot. i think aiselyn was on the bench.

elliot used this most of his game, but at the end he started to throw the ball by himself. it's fun to see them bowl with the bumpers. they scored better than me, even though that is still not saying much.

gabe the babe.

sam. so serious. it was heavy.

snow and soccer

we got dumped with a lot of snow the past couple of days. so much that school was cancelled 2 days in a row. luckily the boys had fun and had a chance to get out in the snow. they love to eat it. why is that so much fun? i remember feeling the same way when i was a kid. i try not to get grossed out when why are eating it off their gloves. i love it when they can have fun together. they do often, but definitely not all the time. they do love each other though and i am so glad.


another adventure we have started is soccer! both of the boys are doing soccer. it's our first time. last year elliot did baseball and had fun, but he got a little bored just standing there half the time. he seemed in heaven with soccer. running and running. i was so excited how he really got into it too. he loved being in the middle of the action. i'm excited to see him get better. it's hard to remember to not use your hands and to learn how to balance enough to stop the ball with one foot while balancing on the other foot. my parents are coming in town in about a month and they'll get here in time to see the boys' last game. elliot is very excited that they will see him play.


sam had fun as well. the 3 year olds did things a little differently. they kind of just ran around and each had a parent out on the floor with them. then they practiced passing the ball, following directions, running around and then getting back before the count down finished, kicking it into the net, etc. he was done by the end, but he did have fun. jeffrey was a good sport being out with him. sam likes to do things his own way, so it can be a little frustrating trying to get him to go the way he needs to go, or follow the directions he needs to follow. silly boy. he is definitely a 3 year old!


i have a couple videos i want to post of them playing, but i couldn't get them to load. i'll try another day.

listening

i have to share this story. yesterday elliot got home from school and was quickly distracted by making his valentines for school. we worked on them for a couple hours and had a lot of fun. it was about 5pm and i wanted to make dinner so i decided to put on a movie for the boys. i realized elliot had not gone to the bathroom right after school like he usually does, so I told him he needed to go before i started the movie. he willingly ran into the bathroom. a minute later he yelled out to me, "thanks for listening to my body mom, because i really needed to go to the bathroom!" it made me laugh. he was being completely sincere too. i guess moms are pretty good at things like that. :)

crazy good

dinner the other night. jeffrey's homemade bread, fresh cooked broccoli, linguini pasta, and breaded chicken covered in 3-cheese marinara sauce. yum. i love it when we are motivated to make something delicious.

elliot's school had crazy day this past week. notice his sideways hat, backwards button-up shirt, long-sleeve under short sleeve, and mix-matched shoes. he was so excited to come up with all these "crazy" ways of dressing up for "crazy day." i love seeing him get so excited for the fun things they do at school. he's getting so big.
love you elliot.

jeffrey's fam

again, aren't cousins great! this is logan. one of elliot's favorite people in the whole world. he keeps asking me if we can fly to utah for his baptism in sept. not sure if we'll make it, but i know it would be elliot's dream come true if we could. they always have a sleepover when we are in town. it's so cute. i drop him off, they eat dinner, play video games, watch a movie late into the night, sleep on the floor, jessica makes them breakfast, and then they play video games again in the morning until i pick him up. it's the best. even my sister's son, ben, asked her if he could have a sleep over with logan. haha. it was cute. you're a pretty cool kid logan. you've got cool parents too.

sam and his uncle steve sure seemed to connect this trip. i love seeing sam connect with people because when he does it's like he will be true to them forever. this was outside the temple while we were waiting for brynn and e.j. to come out for pictures.

having a family wedding is so fun for many reasons. one reason is i get to see sheryl's relatives that live in canada. aunt lynn is so much fun. her family wasn't able to come, but at least we got to hang out with her. i always have felt a special connection with aunt lynn. i'll never forget the book and cute clothes she sent to me when we first had elliot. i wish they all lived closer.
aunt allison and uncle ken were in town too. aunt allison was amazing. she was behind the scenes at brynn's reception all night preparing the food. she was an angel. i love seeing sheryl's family and seeing how much they love each other. we were all so sad granddad couldn't make it from ontario, but we hope he is doing well.

christmas eve at jeffrey's parents house is our tradition. it's so great that it works out for everyone to make it. here is brynn and e.j. back from their honeymoon. jessica, holding emery, and jen next to her. i fell in love with emery this trip. she is one precious baby. we also got to see jen and steve's new house. they are doing a lot of work on it. i'm excited to see the completed look. i'm so happy for them.

the grandkids and the nativity. poor elliot had gotten really sick this night, so he was actually asleep through most of christmas eve. luckily he woke up before everyone left and was able to join us for a little bit. aren't they cute kids! i love being a part of this amazing family.

here is a shot of grandma handing out presents on christmas morning. she gave them some clothes too and they quickly changed into them. it was so fun to see them get so excited about clothes. she seemed to pick their style.

here is a little of my loot.

we hung out at mike and jessica's one night. we were craving burgers, so at 10 at night mike and jeffrey ran to the new in-n-out burger. yum... i'm craving it again now.

isn't he cute?
this year was our second annual buca de bepo adult dinner. it was a lot of fun, but we really missed having fuzz there. we actually got to talk to him on christmas day. he is doing great on his mission in oregon. sorry mike, you kind of got covered by jeff's head. jen, steve, and emery are way back in the shadows too. thanks for dinner mom and dad.

here is a good shot of emery. she smiled like that all the time. she was so fun to hold and get to know.

jeffrey had to head back home to indiana a week before me, so here i am saying goodbye to craig and sheryl right before i headed back home to join jeffrey. i love my inlaws. i love that i am just as comfortable there as i am at my parents house. it's so hard to say goodbye.

homers

there is something about being around cousins that just makes life better. we missed sala. i bet she was having a blast in maine though. these are elliot and sam's cousins on my side of the family. emma, bekah, spencer and ben belong to my sister laura. the cute twins, lily and will, belong to my brother eric. it was so great to be with all of them. the kids got along so well too, which is always a bonus.

we had a great time on our trip. we did all sorts of things. we took the boys ice skating for the first time. they did ok. sam wasn't so sure about it, but elliot seemed to get the hang of it. most of my pictures were blurry, but this one turned out pretty cute. laura and her kids, my mom, and becky joined us. it really was a lot of fun.

a favorite of mine growing up was sledding down the side of my parents' house. it was so fun to see my kids have just as much fun as i did when i was a kid. i still have fun! we were out there for nearly 2 hours. sam loved going down by himself. i love having my kids get older. jeffrey is always in the mood for fun so it's easy to make a ton of plans. thanks for being so easy going jeffrey. i love you.

my brother, his wife, and their twins came into town right after christmas. i'm missing sarah in this picture darn. they're cute though aren't they!

i saw this shot and had to put it in. sam with his "favorite aunt becky". what a precious picture.

becky's husband, brian, was so cute and sat and played with my boys. someday he'll understand how much it means as a parent to see people love your kids and take time to play with them. brian, we love having you in our family. i hope you survived your first christmas with all of our tons of parties and relatives. it took jeff a while to not feel overwhelmed. :)

spencer, our nephew, is a rocker now. he got his own electric guitar and amp for christmas. i can't wait to hear him play again this summer. jeffrey had a great time playing with him over christmas vacation.

we also ventured outside with my neices and nephew to make a snowman. it may be small, but we were proud.

here is laura's whole family. aren't they cute.

we were lucky to be in town for my grandpa richards' christmas party. this was the second year without grandma. we miss her a lot. grandpa did a great job. it's so fun that my kids know him. having the time in montana at his cabin this past summer really gave them the chance to get to know him. sam kept hugging and kissing him. it was very sweet.

last but not least i was able to go and see my mom perform in the tabernacle choir one last time. it was pretty emotional hearing them sing, "God be with you till we meet again." she will be out this april, i think. she's been in the choir for 7 years. my dad was out last year. he had been in for 20 years! it'll be so weird not to have them in choir. my favorite part of conference was trying to spot their faces on t.v. i'm happy for them that they will be able to do some new things, but i know it'll be hard too. i'm so proud of my parents and their dedication to the choir.

brynn's wedding!

brynn and e.j.
we are so happy for you. what a wonderful day!



jeffrey with his dad, craig.

the three brothers. mike, jeffrey and steve.

my dear family.

the reception was held the night before. it turned out beautiful.
brynn has great style.




another shot of me with my three boys.
we're so happy we could all come into town for brynn's special day. we wouldn't have missed it!

pre-christmas

this is elliot's gingerbread house from his kindergarten class. he had so much fun. we love his school this year!

we celebrated our little christmas in indiana before we left for utah. it was fun to help the kids pick out some small gifts so that they could have something to give to everyone. the boys loved giving gifts, but especially getting them.

we had to make sugar cookies during the christmas season. it's tradition.