Happy Birthday Isaac & Grace!

It is so hard to believe that Isaac and Grace are 4!  We had a great day celebrating them.  It started with balloons in the family room, 4 donut holes for breakfast, and a quick present before church.

Grace got a new skirt and shirt and I made Isaac a tie so they got to wear them to church.  Not only was it their birthday, but it was also the Primary Program that day.  They were so cute and fun to watch.  They performed their parts well I could never get tired of hearing Grace say “consequence” and they sang all the songs.  They also made us laugh.  I love the Primary Program!

They could hardly wait for their party that night. 

Isaac was nice enough to help Grace blow out her candles when she couldn’t quite get them all done herself.

Oh boy were they spoiled by lots of people.  We were so glad that Grandma Dorothy, my family, and La La could celebrate with us. 

Isaac and Grace were especially happy to go to sleep that night on new sheets on their new beds.

A few days later Isaac and Grace were thrilled to get packages from Grandma Vicki, Grandpa Harold and Aunt LoLo. 

The coloring bags are darling and they have gotten a lot of use already.

We had so much fun celebrating our 4 year olds!!  One of us may have had  a little too much fun…I will end with one parting shot.

Happy Birthday Isaac & Grace!!

Big Kid Beds

When Isaac and Grace were born I had a couple mom’s of twins warn me about how crazy it would be when they were old enough to climb in and out of each others crib.  I was told to be sure to keep their beds far enough apart so they couldn’t do that too easily.  The way their room is configured we couldn’t avoid putting their cribs right next to each other, so we just hoped for the best.  Well, that day never came.  Isaac and Grace were perfect little crib dwellers for almost 4 years.  It wasn’t until September that we started catching them in scenes like this: 

We were already embarrassed to admit to people that our almost 4 year olds were still in their cribs, but at the same time we knew we had something good going and didn’t want to change it. They didn’t climb in and out of their cribs at all so they stayed put all night and still took awesome naps.  As their birthday approached we decided we couldn’t keep 4 year olds in cribs any longer, so for their birthday we took down the cribs and put up the beds.  Actually, it was the day before their birthday so technically they were still 3…  Before we did it I had to take a few last pictures of them in their cribs.

Oh boy were they excited to go to bed in their big kid beds that night.

Lee and I were excited that we could cuddle with them in bed and give them hugs and kisses easier.  Notice Grace’s decorating with some quick scribbles.

The first night was a little rocky because they both woke up several times not quite sure where they were.  After that first night they were great and have done so well.  They have only gotten out of bed when they weren’t supposed to twice.  They didn’t like the consequence of that choice (door shut and hall light turned off), so they have learned pretty quickly to stay put.  They were extremely excited about their new alarm clock (thank you Janeece!).  The red light stays on all night until the time we set the green light to come on, indicating they can get up.  I would love to thank the person who came up with that!  It has worked wonders and they wait in their beds until the green light comes on. 

I went into their room at one point that first night to help Grace and I found Isaac half off his bed.  I couldn’t resist snapping a picture.

Yes, it is a good thing that they are in big kid beds now, but I must admit it was a little sad for me at the same time.  It seems like just yesterday when they were both sleeping the short way in Grace’s crib.

I guess I have to come to terms with the fact that they really are big kids now!

BYU Soccer & Stuart Little

Lee took Emma and a friend to watch the BYU women’s soccer team play the University of Portland.  BYU is having a great season so they knew it would be a fun game.  And fun it was!

Lee and Emma said it was really cool to watch the talented players play.  Lee was hoping Emma and her friend would pick up all sorts of soccer knowledge to take back to their own teams, but said that they did more chatting and giggling than paying attention to plays.  I had to remind him that they are 13 year old girls (well, Emma was almost 13), what more could he expect!

But they also did a lot of cheering, especially when BYU won 2-1!

I was a little jealous that I wasn’t there to cheer my alma mater on, especially since the BYU football team had lost a disappointing game to OSU earlier that day.  However, I did have fun with Isaac and Grace.  We had just finished reading Stuart Little together so we made it a movie night and watched the movie.

They loved it and I had a good night with my little BYU supporters.  How cute are they?

Trainees

Lee is totally happy to have two more lawn mowing trainees. 

Isaac was especially interested in the job and can’t wait to be a worker like his dad.

These pictures make me smile because my kids have a good, hard-working dad to learn from.  Even if he wants to give up one of those jobs some day…

General Conference Weekend

General Conference weekend is still a much anticipated event at our house.  This year we used a countdown chain that was in The Friend which got us even more excited and prepared for hearing from our leaders. 

When the day finally came we got the reverence tents set up and the coloring sheets and paper for notes out.

We set up a projector in the playroom again.  That gives everybody a great view of the prophet!

The candy cups were lined up and ready to go. 

We had our usual cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Saturday morning. 

The kids did great on Saturday.  Isaac cracked us up by breaking out his guitar during all the songs so he could play along with Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 

During the Priesthood Session that night Brenna came over and we made Happy Birthday banners.  We haven’t worked on a project in way too long so it was nice to do a little crafting together.  It was even better to get it totally completed in one day!  Just in time for birthday season at our house. 

The Sunday sessions of General Conference brought our usual traditions.  Mom and Dad and Kaitlin were with us and we enjoyed listening to the General Authorities together.  Grandpa Mike usually gets a lot of flack for eating out of the candy cups so this time he brought his own big candy stash hidden in his brown bag. 

Between sessions we feasted on Conference Casserole and crepes.  Isaac and Grace played the games we pull out every six months. 

What a great weekend!  General Conference was wonderful as usual.  I always feel recharged and energized after watching and motivated to do and be better.  It wasn’t any different this time around!  I also love that our kids look forward to it and make an effort to listen. 

Peaches, Pears & Applesauce

I did a little canning at the end of the summer and into the early fall.  We have replenished our supply of peaches, pears and applesauce. 

The best part was that we didn’t pick any of the fruit! We got a great deal on peaches that were already picked. The same was true for the pears and apples. There is something so satisfying about seeing those jars lining the food shelves, not to mention cracking open a bottle and eating them! Yum!

Acceptance

The last two and a half years have been very busy for Lee while he has been taking prerequisite courses for nursing school.  After working all day, going to school, fulfilling his busy calling and taking care of his family there has been little time left over (except for this last glorious summer when he wasn’t taking any classes!).  It finally paid off when he got the acceptance letter from the Linfield College of Nursing.  Wahoo we were excited!

Of course we were also a little nervous, this means big changes for our family.  The program starts in February and will take 22 months to complete.  After he has his RN he plans to continue on to get his Doctorate of Nurse Practice (DNP) and practice as a mental health nurse practitioner. 

I am so proud of Lee.  He has worked hard towards a goal and taken scary steps to change his career.  He has been such a good example of hard work and having faith and is showing our kids how much he values education.  Congratulations Lee!  Let the wild ride begin!