six years

{sept 29}

just celebrated six years of marriage!

finally got maggie weaned so we were able to go away for a few days

left early friday morning and set off for Vegas (our usual destination since it's close and pretty cheap)

we have promised each other that we will take a legit anniversary trip soon but we've gotta stop having babies!

between pregnancy and nursing it takes up almost 2 years of "our" lives

plus, leaving little one's is SO hard for me

i was sick about leaving magz weeks before we even left

of course she did fine and the boy's were in heaven at mema and pepa's

we had a good time on our little getaway!

cruised down in a brand new mustang convertible and felt young again

 

i have always wanted to rent a fun car, so we did

we had so much fun eating good food, sleeping, relaxing, going to the movies (twice), renting two red box movies and walking through some casinos (may fave!)

we ran into Scott Disick at the new City Center, kudos if you know he is!

i asked my brother if he knew he who was and he said no. then i asked him why he didn't watch the show that he is on and he told me, "because i have a soul." whoopsie! i have no soul!

we also saw Rod Stewart in concert which was amazing!

my cute dad also texted us saying that he got us a dinner reservation and wanted to pay

he is the best!

we also did a ton of reminiscing about our dating days (which really weren't that long!) and about our marriage and everything in between

still can't believe we have been married for 6 years and already have three kids, one of which is almost five...crazy

we had the best time and this little trip was MUCH needed

                               (view from our room)

ketchup

saw this at the store and i was hungry so i bought it

i was super skeptical and i kept shaking my head everytime i opened my cupboard and saw it sitting there (what was i thinking? ew, sick.)

it was amazing...

had a great birthday last week and turned 32.

the day started with me sitting alone on the curb in front of Old Navy crying while i talked to my sweet Gigi in New Hampshire (it was one of those good/bad cries but it felt great to get it out! and she said so many amazing things to me)

i sat there for a bit and then picked myself right up and continued my kidless day of shopping, eating and pampering, thanks to my mother in law.

it ended up being a great birthday!

i asked for a new vacuum (yes, for my birthday) and i am ridiculously happy about it, i vacuum everyday now

then i got to be a part of my second EVER missionary call opening party

good ol uncle Klint is headed to Philly!!

 

i love these little parties because it reminds me of birth without knowing the sex..so exciting and such a rush! the shouts and cheers are so similar.

facetimed with my cute daddy while he flew his airplane, love that fun guy. can't believe he is pushing 70. the man doesn't AGE.

 

decorated for Halloween, of course. Griffin's favorite holiday! he literally did the decorating and i was happy to let him decide where everything went. i may change it up a tad...haha.

then i went crazy taking pictures of this cutie in her new Fall jammies
 

 

this little beauty is looking tired because she is back to serious night waking thanks to some beasty molars coming in...ahh.

my outside girl

i am sure every babe loves the outdoors, especially when they get the walking thing down.

like most kids her age (i'm sure) she brings me her shoes all day long and when the door opens and closes and she doesn't make it out in time, she flips.

she books it all over the place! it's pretty hilarious. she tries to run but she get's ahead of herself and always biffs when she tries. slow down funny girl.

 

we have been spending a lot of time outside because it is finally not in the 100's anymore here, yay!

the mornings and evenings are cool and we are on our way to my favorite time of year, FALL!

i'm excited for our two or more walks a day, longer day's at the park, playing outside more and going for lot's of rides on the trails.

we went for our first cool morning trail ride today and it got me so excited!

scooter party

i had been asking nolan in the months leading up to his birthday, what kind of party he wanted. all he kept saying was "a scooter party, mom".

i kept trying to get him to think of something else but he never waivered from the scooter party.

of course, i googled scooter party and found a darling scooter themed party on one of my fave party websites! are you kidding me!?

so i copied a few things off of there and we had ourselves a scooter party!

we started the day at nolan's favorite restuarant, Black Bear Diner.

then it was off to our house to decorate the scooters.

after that we all headed up to the gorgeous new trail up on the red hill and we rode and rode!

then we headed back to our house to make some edible scooters, sing happy birthday, eat cupcakes and open presents.

i was a little worried about this party because it was a family only party and i don't think either boy knew that and they both kept talking about what they would do when their friends got there. eeep.

thank goodness when their favorite people (mema, pepa, klint, nicole and bear) showed up for the party, they were both satisfied! phew.

we had the best time and the once dreaded scooter party was a success! i think nolan felt very important and very loved and that is all that matters.

terribly uninspired

blogging hasn't been the easiest thing for me lately.

i am so uninspired that it's not even funny!

we really don't have much going on, which really is just normal life around here.

i am so busy with these three kids, it's crazy...fun, but a little bananas at times.

we play at parks, we ride scooters, we work on the house, do yard work, etc.

there just isn't anything exciting happening with us! and that is quite alright.

i am feeling like disconnecting a little and getting back to basics.

life used to be so simple and it just doesn't seem simple anymore.

i find myself missing the effort that has to be put into making and keeping relationships/friendships.

all you have to do is comment on people's blog/facebook/instagram and that makes you feel like you have covered your bases.

believe me, i feel like i DO this. i DO, do this!

i find myself putting less effort into friends/family, etc.

social media makes it too easy! and to me, that seems so wrong.

i miss the days when you had to call someone's house and ask for them and then proceed to have a conversation.

i have such a love/hate relationship with technology right now.

like, i LOVE my iphone but i feel too connected all the time.

life feels TOO easy.

i have toyed with the idea of saying sayonara to having a smart phone.

sooo.....

i may or may not blog anymore. not for any particular reason (just mostly the uninspired reason, honestly)

i may "blog" but just keep it to myself, as a journal of sorts.

or i may get all caught up and then post a million posts at once. i have no idea!

i need to feel inspired again!

but if it never comes, that's okay too.

side note after doing some thinking: i suppose my blog should just be for journaling purposes and updates but i sometimes want a personal feel to it, maybe to get my thoughts out there? I don't know...I kind of hate facebook and that seems to be the place to put your thoughts "out there".

Nolan (3 next weekend!)

Nolan-

      Oh buddy, you are almost three! I can't believe it. I swear you still seem so little to me, and you are. You are a very petite little guy (still wearing 2T clothes) but that does not stop you. You and Maggie enjoy the same books which is how I know you are still a little guy at heart. You are very tough and always on the go. Keeping up with Griffin is no problem for you! You are really good and sweet with Maggie but you do have your naughty little moments with her. It has been hard for you to have my focus shifted to Maggie. I can tell that you adore and look up to Griff and I love seeing that.

You and your Dad are big time buddies. You two just get each other. You also like to work hard but you tire easily and you value sleep big time. You have no problem saying that you need to go to bed. You have no problem napping as long as I lay down with you and let you play with my hair. Oh the hair thing....

You are obsessed with hair. You have been since you were a tiny baby. You want to touch everyone's hair but you especially love long, soft hair. You ask me several times during the day if you can play with mine. You also get up in the night (every single night) to come into my bed and fondle the heck out of my hair. It's such a cute, silly little fetish of yours. I wonder when you will outgrow it? Maybe never.

You love cars and you basically know the names of all the one's you really like. You especially love corvette's and you are making Daddy and I think we love them too. Like love them so much we want to buy one someday! Your eye's get really big and wide when you spot one of your favorite cars. We are all now way into looking around for nice cars and spotting them as we drive along.

You are incredibly obsessed with milk. You could drink it all day long. You are still lactose intolerant so you drink Lactose free milk. I am hoping you outgrow this because you LOVE anything dairy. Your favorite phrase is "Would that be cool?". We get a kick out of it everytime you say it. You are very imaginative and always coming up with silly ideas that make us laugh. You are extremely social and always wanting to talk to people. You cannot get enough of nursery. You absolutley love going every Sunday and you get very sad if we don't go. Even when you are sick, you want to go.

We love you so much, sweet little buddy! Way to go on almost turning THREE!!

Griffin (almost FIVE! say what?)

Griffin-

       You are 4 going on 5. Next month actually, and I really cannot believe I have a FIVE year old (almost)!! I have way too much fun with you, you and I just click. You are totally my little helper buddy. You are so good with your little sister, it makes me super happy! She loves you just as much as you love her. You and Nolan are really good buddies. When you aren't here, Nolan has no idea what to do with himself! It's hard for him and I when you aren't around. Sometimes you guy's fight and beat on each other a little but 2 seconds later you are friends again.

You have been in preschool at Dixie College for two weeks now and you love it! I am wishing I would have put you in for 4 days a week instead of just two. You are learning a lot of new things and making new friends. I am hoping this will prepare you for Kindergarden. I don't even want to think about sending you off to "real" school.

You are such a hard worker and you love to help your Dad and Pepa with whatever job they've got. You will work no matter what, but when there is money involved, you work EXTRA hard. You kind of blow our minds sometimes with how hard and long you can work. You do not value sleep or really need it. You can hang out til all hours of the night without ever getting grumpy or crazy. You are a true night owl. We love that you can adapt and stay up late if you need to but you will not sleep in the next day. That's what makes it hard! You won't take a nap to save your life, even on the hard day's after a late night and early morning. You also refuse to ever admit you are tired. I think I have heard you utter those two words twice in your life.

You are very agile and athletic and I am hoping that you end up playing some kind of sport. I don't care what you pick but you've got to use that little body for something sporty! You can ride your bike without training wheels and have been for several months. You are also a PRO on your Razor scooter. You also love to play catch. You are very active and I hope you never slow down. Griff, we love the garbage out of you. You are such a great little leader of our family. I love that you are the big brother to Nolan and Maggie.