November, part 1

November, before the move:

 I took 8-month pictures of Christian.
It all started well, 

 But ended up more like this....

 Crawling babies make picture-taking a challenge.

Nicholas got the stomach flu just five days before the move....and I prayed no one else would catch it. No one did.

 I got creative in my methods of keeping my crawling baby contained while I packed:

 And the mentioned crawling baby found a discarded dum-dum one of his siblings left behind....

Christian attempted to figure out how to use a sippy cup.

 You'll figure it out eventually, bud.


I took pictures of my beautiful niece Avery in her blessing dress:

Nicholas's school had a reading and writing challenge the week before we left. He had to write stories about being in space.
This picture-I'm not sure I can handle the adorableness. All! The! Exclamation! Points!

We had a few final playdates with some of our dearest friends.

And the children made boxes fun: 

 (The smirnoff box was donated from a neighbor who got it from the grocery store....I have to admit I felt a little strange...but not as strange as I will when my new neighbors help us move in! Ha!)

We enjoyed one last snowfall with our golf-course view.

And a late afternoon break in the clouds gave me another glimpse at my most favorite type of sunset lighting:

to the dishwasher!

 About two days into our two-week stay at my parents' house, 
Christian learned how to pull himself up to stand next to things.
Chairs, table legs, people legs, bathtubs, Christmas presents,
and the dishwasher.

Every single time the dishwasher was open, 
within moments we'd hear his little toes squeaking as he pushed himself along the wood floor, 
coming as fast as he could to get to the dishwasher.

a day at Disney

We took a couple of days out of our trip to California to drive down and take the kids to Disneyland. 

We drove there the day before so we could get settled into our hotel.

Our five hour drive to Anaheim was long, with lots of "how much longer?" potty breaks, tears about potty breaks, snacks, and LA traffic.

But we made it.  Our hotel was beautiful and clean and we were so grateful to have two connecting rooms. The kids were thrilled to be out of the car. They danced in the mirrors and explored the room. 

My favorite moment: Ellie squealed and said, "Wow!! We even have a garbage can!"

We went to dinner at Red Robin, loving the fact that it was 70 degrees outside and we could walk around without our coats on. 

After dinner we took the shuttle to Downtown Disney so the kids could pick out a souvenir and we wouldn't have to spend our limited time in the park looking for the perfect toy.

Nicholas picked out an awesome light-up light saber (with some encouragement from Dad...) 

We bought two. Kent and Nick were in little-boy Star Wars heaven.

Ellie bought a sweet little stuffed Lady puppy. Then we got crazy-overpriced ice cream and sat outside under the Christmas lights and listened to live music.

I think this night was my favorite part of the whole trip.

That night after we put the kids to bed I drove to Target and bought myself new tennis shoes. My riding boots were just not cutting it, and my feet were killing me.

I wasn't nearly as prepared for this Disneyland trip as I should have been,

but I figure, with all the packing I had to do before we went to California, it's a miracle I didn't forget more.

We intended to wake up early and get to the park as soon as it opened.

Well....it didn't happen. 

Three young, emotionally-overwhelmed children,

plus two parents who really just wanted to sleep in....

You know how it goes.

The park was packed. So so crowded. But our day wasn't about racing to get on all the best rides, waiting in lines, or seeing shows. Our day was simply about letting the kids be the guides, doing what they wanted when they wanted, and just having fun together.

Our first ride was Autopia. Nicholas was bouncing with excitement. 

While Kent and Nick were on the ride, I stayed outside with Ellie and Christian. 

Ellie wet her pants. In the bathroom. After using the potty. 

She's got skills.

Then she had a meltdown because she saw Pluto. 

And Christian had to nurse.

But it was all worth it when Nicholas came bounding back to us shouting "THAT WAS THE BEST!" Even twenty minutes later he'd shriek every so often and say, "I'm just still SO HAPPY!"

Next up was Ellie's first choice, the teacups.

We rode the Storybook Land canal boats next, then went for lunch. 

The food lines and crowds were ridiculous, and Nicholas decided it was a great time to have a "challenging authority/parents are the worst" moment,

but I got this (for the first time in my life!):

And everything was better. Matterhorn Macaroons, I'm going to love you forever. 

Another thing I found that I love? The Disneyland Baby Care Center. What a beautiful, peaceful, perfectly well-stocked place. I found myself finding reasons to go back as the day went on...it was just so quiet in there (and so busy and loud everywhere else!)

We also rode the Jungle Cruise (probably one of my favorite rides--and it was all decorated and changed for Christmas!), got Dole Whips (duh,) and realized we stuck out after the second or third time someone asked us "Where in Utah are you from?"

And I don't even feel like our family is that big yet...

Nicholas really wanted to get his face painted. 

I adore this boy.

He spent the rest of the day laughing with delight whenever he saw another boy with the same face paint, and feeling quite proud of his awesome paint.

We ended the day with a walk down to Toon Town, where we saw Goofy.

Nicholas was so excited, and jumped right in line to get a picture.

Ellie was terrified. Screaming, shaking, "He's coming, he's going to get me!!!"

Oh my goodness. Poor girl was absolutely panicked. 

We didn't spend long in Toon Town....

And then, right as we were about to board the train to take us back to Main Street so we could leave, My exhausted baby finally fell asleep:

That night we spent over an hour trying to wash the face paint off of Nicholas (his eyebrows were still green nearly five days later...) ate dinner at Cheesecake factory after much difficulty navigating to their parking garage, and fell into bed exhausted and happy.

welcome 2016

We celebrated the New Year here at my parent's house. 
Our party involved a glow-in-the-dark dinner,
laughing until we cried (several times,)
two kinds of cookies (coconut lime macadamia and oatmeal chocolate chip,) fruit, veggies, chips, and lime slush drink,
reading a time capsule from 20 years ago (my favorite game used to be Guess Who,)
Ellie laying on the couch with potato chips and netflix the.entire.night,
and only a sprinkling of meltdowns from the kids after we passed 9 pm.

We had a crazy year last year. 
And "fun mom," and "happy mom" were kinda absent,
much more than I wanted them to be.

Three weeks ago, on a Friday afternoon in our rental condo, I sat down and played Connect Four with the kids while Christian napped.
That day was the first time in about five months that I actually enjoyed being a mom again.
Nicholas took pictures.

People move, life changes, there are seasons of hard for everyone, I get it. I'm perfectly aware that my year was not exceptional in any way, and so many of us have things so much harder. But last year was really really challenging for me. 

I hadn't selected a One Little Word last year, knowing that I was going to have a new baby and not wanting to put myself up for feeling frustrated or overwhelmed. Looking back at the year, I can say that my OLW was "Survive." 
It was all about the cereal for dinner, another round of Octonauts on Netflix, simple-as-possible holidays, and just getting by.
And it was okay. We are okay. We are happy and healthy and together. Better than before, really.

Now it's time to start fresh. 

for 2016, my One Little Word is Play.

I want to play. I want to spend more time delaying the chores while I crawl on the floor with the kids. 
I want to run in the backyard, ride bikes, dig in the dirt and build forts.
I want to imagine and pretend. I want to make a mess while we bake cookies. I want to paint and color and scribble.
I want to dance in the kitchen and fall on the floor giggling.
I want to play with my kids before they get so old that they stop asking me to play with them.

inspirewetrust.com

But there's more. 
I haven't been taking care of myself. I haven't done things that I love to do in a very long time. I haven't been refilling my bucket, and it's time for me to stop running on empty.
I want to read good books. Play the piano. Organize activities with friends. Explore new places. Find new favorites around our new home. Exercise just because it feels good. Do yoga. And write. I want to write, blog, record. 
These things make me happy, and me doing them makes my family happier.

So, here's to 2016. Let's make it fun.

Merry Christmas

This has been quite a year. When I think about last January, I almost can't even believe where we are now. So many changes, some expected (new baby! starting kindergarten!) but mostly unexpected (sold our house! building a new one! moving to a small town, a little place we didn't even know existed back in January!)

While I'd like to look back and say it was a year of peace, simplicity, and joy, the truth is even better. 
It was a year of growth. 
A year of tantrums and tears and "mom fails," but also a year of adjusting to three kids and the exponential love that comes along. 
A year of difficult decisions, but also a year of learning to trust each other and the answers to prayers. 
A year of packing and moving and all the stress that comes from trying to sell a house with three little kids, but also a year of looking forward to new beginnings and having faith that our Heavenly Father has great things in store for us.

What it all comes down to is that it was a year. And we survived it. Maybe even thrived in some moments. 

And we'd like to celebrate that
by giving awards to each family member. 

2015
The things we were best at:

Kent: Kids' first choice for snuggles and loves. Able to transform into a dragon, jedi knight, or superhero as needed. Traveled to Romania (twice), Paris, Boston, and Manhattan, but most impressively, he survived the crowds of Disneyland at Christmas.

Becca: Packing extraordinaire. Perfected the art of getting the house show ready in 45 minutes or less. Able to translate a kindergartener's phonetic spelling while under pressure, convince a four-year-old that there's more to her dietary needs  life than candy, and do both of these while being loved on/slobber attacked by a crazy strong nine-month-old.

Nicholas: Best Jack-o-Lantern smile (missing 6 teeth). Most likely to have "the best day ever!" every single day of school. Dreams of becoming a rockstar with a song on the radio or youtube and makes up the best lyrics and choreography.

Ellie: Most able to watch silly cat videos for hours on end. Grilled Cheese Sandwich's biggest fan (with quesadillas coming in a close second.) Most likely to share, serve, and make sure everyone is taken care of. 

Christian: Our never-failing, never-ending wiggling bundle of smiles. Always happy, and always moving. The speediest army-crawler around. Most likely to be mistaken for a puppy as he spends his time chasing balls, nibbling at our toes, and attempting to squeeze out the door.

With the year behind us, as we find rest and stillness spending time with family this Christmastime, we find ourselves feeling more grateful than ever for the peace that comes from the blessings of being led by the Spirit, the joy and hope of our Savior, and the never-failing Love of our Father. Life is good. So very good. 
We hope you all have the merriest, most wonderful holidays.

Merry Christmas!