February Update

Lately we have just been keeping busy with the day-to-day and having some fun here and there. Here's a little update:

 Susie got a bike for Christmas but she doesn't love riding it.. We have been practicing with her and she is finally getting better and enjoying it more! She looks adorable with her little helmet on. She has always been a very cautious and hesitant girl so I should have realized that riding a bike would be a little scary for her. I'm so glad she is liking it better now! 

I love that my kids love to be read to and look at books on their own. We read so many! 

Paul's schedule changed recently so that he has weekends off now and I am loving it! It is so nice to be able to have Saturdays and Sundays together. We like to make a big breakfast on Saturday mornings, waffles are usually involved. And the kids love to help me with the beaters. 

 Braden's half birthday was 2 weeks ago. He is now 18 months old and attending nursery like a champ. He doesn't even cry when I leave. He is getting to be a big boy. He has been a little slow to start talking but we can hear a few more words now. He says car, ball, mama, dad, Susie, and Jesus. Maybe a few more. He says "meow" for a cat and has a cute "elephant" sound, too. He can be stubborn and throws a pretty good fit but he is also a great snuggler and gives good kisses when he is sorry for hitting. :/

I ran the Sedona half marathon. It was a hard one because it had so many hills. It was so fun to have Paul and the kids at the finish line. 

My friend Chante sent us the cutest Valentines package and included these groundhog day treats. We put them together and ate them up for a Family Home Evening treat. 

Paul and I have continued our Valentines day tradition of doing "14 days of service." I love it every year. One of Paul's surprises was getting a babysitter and hiking Mt. Elden. We've been wanting to hike it for a while. Whew it was steep! It took us 3 hours and had some beautiful views. My legs were shaking afterwards! (We hiked it 4 days after my race!) 

I meant to get a picture of our Valentines morning treats, but didn't. :( But Susie loved waking up and finding her surprise. She said, "Mommy you are so sweet!" 

Here are some miscellaneous pictures. Every day I am so grateful I get to spend my days at home with these cute, trying, stubborn, sweet, smiley kids. Being a mom and taking care of my kids always challenges me to become a little bit better everyday. It's a great blessing to stay at home with them. 

Christmas in Texas, New Years at Home!

We were invited to a shin-dig in Texas for Christmas this year and we just couldn't pass it up. Thankfully Paul was able to get some time off of work- we were so excited to go and see so much of our family! The day we drove out, our little Corolla was packed to the hilt. Try fitting 4 people, a week's worth of clothes, diapers, food for traveling, A BIKE, and a bunch of other presents. It was crowded.

We stopped and stayed the night in Albuquerque. This is Susie enjoying her free breakfast: 

We had a great time hanging out with everyone. These are some of my favorite people to be around. Susie loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa West. She spent most of the time sitting on Grandpa's lap. We had lots of yummy food to eat all week! As you can see in this next picture, Paul had fun too... maybe a little too much fun.. :) 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was on Christmas Eve when we took time to think about the Savior and his birth. Grandma and Grandpa West brought costumes for the grandkids. They all dressed up and Grandpa read us the Christmas story. The spirit was beautiful, it really touched me.

We slept at Jessica's and had a lot of fun later that night setting up the living room with stockings and presents. We watched a few movies and ate candy and put bikes together. Jessica knows how to make things fun and festive. She made a great Christmas breakfast for us, complete with Rudolph plates and cups. So adorable!! I want some. 

We were able to be there for Joshua's baptism, too. That was a fun day! The little kids watched the baptism up close then sang "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam". We had a fun celebration afterwards with pizza and cake and a nerf gun war in the gym (those Wests know how to party). 

 We survived the trip home and the next day had some visitors of our own. Mom and Olivia drove down to spend New Years with us. We had some fun little activities planned throughout New Years Eve to celebrate. Susie likes popping balloons. Olivia is such a good aunt. Susanna loved having her and Grandma at our house.

We went to "The Place" for breakfast with my Uncle Todd and Weston who were traveling through. They served us ginormous amounts of food!

I couldn't believe the snow the got that week! It snowed a ton!!  

We made lots of treats, decorated a New Years tree, and had a fun time spending time together. Mom and Livy and I got to go on a girls night out. It was a blast! We are so lucky to have so many wonderful relationships and people in our life. It was hard to say goodbye when they left. 

Happy 2015!