Stepping Outside and Into a Party

Pictures taken March 12, 2011

I was babysitting my nieces and nephews when we went outside to play.

We discovered that there was a party going on!

It was election time at the University,
and one of the parties had brought their campaign to our courtyard.

We had food.

We had toys.

We had activities.
We had cotton candy, bubbles and balloons.

There was even a pinata.

I'm telling you, this party turned me in to the best babysitter ever!

All the kids had a blast.

And I just sat back and watched.

Just an Ordinary Day

Pictures taken March 2, 2011

On an ordinary day, Peter might become a tennis playing transformer skeleton.  

Or any other character we have old costumes or dress up clothes for.

Later, he might play outside where there a plenty of adventures to be had.

He has a lot to say.

And there is work to be done.

But taking a ride on the rocket makes it worth it.

He works hard and plays hard and has tons of fun.

And by the end of the day, sleep is a welcomed relief.

(Although I suspect his dreams bring many more adventures all night long!)

Free Time? What's That?

My Summer has begun, but Ammon and Peter still have school for a few more weeks.  Sounds like freedom, right?  That's what I thought too.  Until I came home and realized how blind I've been to the mess we've been living in.  Finals can put a person into tunnel vision, I think.  Then I thought of all the family responsibilities I've been looking forward to having time to do more thoroughly (making nicer dinners more often, keeping up on the laundry and vacuuming, "spring cleaning").  Then I realized all the things I need to do for my church responsibilities.  (With the end of the month it is time for reports.  In addition I am planning a training meeting that I'll be hosting in a couple of weeks.)  Finally I thought of all the hobbies or relaxing things I thought I'd be able to get back to (reading books, blogging, going to the temple, taking long walks).  Sometimes free time amounts to being able to take on more and more and results in being busier than ever.

But at least I don't get graded now.  And I set the due dates.  I'm looking forward to the next several months.  It will be a nice change of pace.

Getting Ready For Easter

The boys were so excited to color eggs.  They were bouncing off the walls with excitement.  Peter spilled the green dye.  Fortunately Daddy had gone overboard and bought TWO sets of dye and the spilled color was easily replaced.

After the eggs were finished, and the boys went to bed, the Easter Bunny came.  Having kids sure makes holidays fun!

Bath Time

Picture taken February 28, 2011

I suspect that I don't have many years left where I will be able to get away with taking pictures of my children bathing, so this may be one of the last of these.  Peter went through a phase of gearing up for bath time with his goggles.  I'm guessing he might enjoy a lot of time in the pool this summer.  In the mean time, Ammon almost never gives me such a great grin for a picture, so this one is a definite keeper.  Those two boys are great!  I love that they can pretty  much get themselves in and out of the bath and have a good time while getting clean.

Bounce House Fun

Pictures taken February 26, 2011

My brother has a friend who runs a business renting bounce houses.  This, for him, translated into free use of a bounce house for his one year old daughter's birthday party.  Members of both sides of the family as well as some friends, mingled together at the church where the adults visited while the children bounced.

My sister-in-law is amazing and made a cute cake and adorable little lady bug cake bites.

These pictures are also a rare look at Ammon in his glasses.  He had them for about two weeks.  In that time he lost or broke three cases.  Then, his glasses disappeared.  After about two more weeks his glasses were found on the bus.  He promptly put them in his backpack - which he lost later that day.  We haven't seen the glasses or the back pack since.

Playing With the Camera

Pictures taken February 27, 2011

Peter and I recently found ourselves hanging out with nothing better to do than play with the camera.

And so we have these pictures.

For most of Peter's three year old existence, he was pretty sure he was four.

For months it drove Andy crazy.

Finally, in talking with his preschool teachers, we discovered the problem.

She kept telling him he was four.

She explained that he was physically, intellectually and behaviorally up to snuff with the older kids.

And she kept forgetting that he was only three.

We were glad to get that one figured out before his birthday celebration.

It was going to get messy to have him insisting on five candles for his fourth birthday.

Oakley Boy

Picture taken February 21, 2011

This is how I found Peter.

In the dead of winter.

In the middle of the night.

Asleep.

Eyes closed and in the dark, but wearing the shades.

His Daddy, Mr. Oakley Obsessed himself, was proud.

The Ramp

Pictures taken February 21, 2011

In preparation for my Grandparents move to Salt Lake, my mom took on the project of building a ramp in her garage so that my Grandpa, who rides a scooter, would be able to get into her house.

Andrew was happy to join in the effort and help when he was available.

They were literally working on it until my Grandparents pulled into the driveway.

But Grandpa was able to come right in.

Peter always love to shadow his daddy, but especially show when there are tools involved.

He was excited to also be part of the project.

Dinner Guests

Pictures taken February 20, 2011

One Sunday in February, we had Andrew's brother Tim and his family join us for dinner.  They had invited us over the month before, so we thought we'd reciprocate.  After church, Andy and I worked to get things ready, and the boys went about their own activities.

Ammon spent the time waiting for our guests playing the wii.

Peter spent his time napping on the table...

Both boys stopped what they were doing and joined their cousins when they arrived.

I think they enjoyed being at their own kid table.

(I know the adults enjoyed having our own table...)

Dinner guests are always fun: especially family.

Current Day

My blogging habit has gone downhill.  It seems like I never take my camera with me anywhere these days, and even when I do, I forget to use it!  I am missing out on recording a lot of great memories.

Today Tangled came out and I bought it.  I organized a movie party at my parents house.  Grandma Laurel, Grandpa Fred, my parents, Katy and her three children, Joey and Krista with their girls, and Andrew and me with the boys were all there.  We got pizza from Papa Murphy's.  Carolyn brought popcorn, Krista brought cookies, and Grandma Laurel provided a salad.

My family was there a good hour before anyone else.  Ammon helped Mom mow the lawn.  I think it was the first time he has ever done it.  I really wish I had pictures.  He was adorable and I think he liked the responsibility.

After the lawn was mowed, Mom entertained Peter with some bubbles.  He was cute and they had a great time together.  My mom had me take some video of them with her camera, but I didn't record when I thought I was, and by the time I got it right, they were winding down their activity.

Andrew is exhausted and freezing cold which is super strange.  It seems that he must be sick, although we don't really know what's wrong with him yet other than the fact that he can't keep himself warm.  He was freezing cold in the middle of the night last night too, and it seems like he could have been running a fever.  But he doesn't seem to be feverish right now - just can't get warm.

Ammon and Peter are growing up so fast.  I hate that I am missing writing and recording and taking pictures of everything they do.  They melt my heart every day.  I adore them completely.

Valentine Activity

Pictures taken February 11, 2011

We had a neighborhood activity to decorate valentine sugar cookies.  The boys had lots of fun.  Andrew was at work, but Ammon was sure to decorate a few extras for him.  It was fun to hang out with all the neighbors.  The decorating was inside, but afterwards everyone gathered outside and let their children play while we pretended it was warm enough to be comfortable. After several winter months, it was nice to be outdoors again and no one seemed to be in much of a hurry to go back inside.

SkipBo

Picture taken February 07, 2011

Andrew and I enjoy playing games together.  We get in game ruts and will play the same thing night after night.  Lately we have been enjoying SkipBo.  We usually play after the boys are in bed, but if we ever leave the game out on the table, Peter is sure to find it and wants to play too.  So in the morning, Peter and I will occasionally pull out the game and play our own version.  I remove all of the SkipBo cards from the deck and pick about 6 sets of 1-12.  We practice his number recognition and ordering skills as we build the piles.  He knows he is supposed to start each turn with five cards in hand and he will always tell me how many more cards he needs to draw.  He is quite accomplished with these small addition/subtraction problems (4+__=5, 3+__=5, 2+__=5 etc).  We don't actually have a pile of cards that we are trying to get through, like the traditional game.  We simply draw cards and build up to four piles at a time with the typical draw and discard.  It's worked out pretty well for us and I enjoy spending the time with him.

Family Outing

Pictures taken January 28, 2011

The last Friday in January, we decided to go on a family outing to the Gateway Mall and have a nice lunch together.  We went to Tucanos because I had a birthday coupon.  Usually the coupon is for your birthday month (which would have been December), but I signed up to get it late in the month and so the one I received was to be used in January instead.  I have to say, birthday celebrations in January are much more convenient than December.  Especially for while I am in school and face finals on top of the typical holiday business, I am kind of sold on the January birthday party concept.

The boys had a great time and decided to get silly for the camera.  Ammon was the brave one who ate chicken heart.  Not only did he eat it - he liked it!  Sounds disgusting to me!  Overall it was a pleasant afternoon and I was glad to spend the time with my family.

My Little Scientist

Pictures taken January 25, 2011

Ammon came home from school and asked for an orange and a pencil.

Before I knew what was happening, he was giving us a little science lesson.

Church History Museum

Pictures taken January 17, 2011

My parents are both volunteer as docents at the Church History Museum downtown.

Some of the displays were recently changed.

A new children's area was added.

The display about the Tabernacle was being taken out.

My mom decided it was time to bring in the grandchildren for a tour.

The cousins all ended up there at different times.

But when we went, we had some neighbors there as well.

It was a busy day for the museum, but it was still lots of fun!

Christmas Cookies - in January

Pictures taken January 16, 2011

This year, our church schedule is from 9:00 - 12:00 on Sunday mornings.  I love morning church, because it makes for a really relaxing day afterwards.  A couple of weeks into it, the boys saw our Christmas cookie cutters and asked if we could make some cookies.  I forgot to take pictures of the final product, and we didn't decorate or even frost them, but we had gingerbread men and stockings and they sure tasted yummy!

My sister Rebecca came and visited that evening.  We watched Star Trek and ate our treats.  Just as she was getting ready to leave, Peter threw up.  The night got even more fun after that...  We hoped that maybe it was just too many cookies that upset Peter's stomach, but a week later when Ammon went through the same thing, we decided it must have been a bug.  Fortunately neither Andrew or I ever got it.

Fancy Nancy Party

My mother-in-law decided to have a Fancy Nancy party.

If you are like me and don't have young daughters, you many not know who Fancy Nancy is.

Apparently she is a character who loves to do all things fancy.

She wears fancy clothes, talks fancy (especially likes french words), and even tried to eat fancy.

To have a party like this, she needed girls.

Having only two grand-daughters at the time (one has been born since), 

Peggy generously invited nieces in the other sides of family as well.

Two of my nieces were in Idaho at the time, so they weren't able to come.

But the other two Nunes-side nieces were there along with my sister Katy (their mom).

My sister-in-law Jennifer brought her daughter Sophia, along with her niece.

And Kara was there with Kate (and Hannah waiting to be born).

We played dress up, listened to a story, decorated crowns, and ate cupcakes.

I fell in LOVE with Raspberry Lemonade cupcakes from the Sweet Tooth Fairy.

I am not used to craving sweet things that don't involve chocolate.

But for weeks after this party, all I could think about were the Raspberry Lemonade cupcakes.

The girls had a lovely time and the party was considered a raging success.

2011

I spent the first day of 2010 crying.  All day.  There were certain things in my life that I really wanted, and I just knew that none of them would come to fruition in the coming year.  People all around me were looking forward to the new year with excitement and anticipation.  I just couldn't join them.  I knew there would be no new baby for me to care for and love - probably not even one on the way.  I knew there would be no new job to provide self-sufficiency in our meager life style.  I knew there would be no end to my schooling, which, although I am grateful to be involved in, sometimes feels more of a burden than blessing.  My list seemed endless, in my moment of self-pity: all those heartaches in my life that the passage of a year wouldn't cure -all those troubles that seemed to follow me through time, relentless and unending left me empty.  I faced the new year with dread and bitterness, not sure I had the strength I needed to endure it.  

2010 turned out to be a marvelous year despite the accurate prediction I made that none of those things I really wanted would come to be.  Somehow a loving Heavenly Father blessed me, not with what I wanted, but with the things He knew would bring me peace.  The most joyous gift of all was the connection I felt to Him as I went through my days learning and growing and drawing nearer to Him.

With an experience like that, I began 2011 with enthusiasm.  There were still many things on my list (if not all) that I knew not to expect.  But maybe, just maybe I felt a little hope?  If nothing else, I felt confident that there was joy to be had if I just trusted in the Lord and forged ahead.

December had left me feeling burned out.  Between stress of finals, and sickness, as well as several busy months trying to balance 14 credit hour, two different degrees, and my opportunities to serve as a wife, mother, Relief Society teacher, Visiting Teaching Coordinator, and (since I am one district leader short) Visiting Teaching District Leader not to mention sister, daughter etc etc. I finished my semester feeling the need to reassess my values and goals.  I decided to cut down my schedule to a mere 9.5 credit hours and try to make my family and my health the big priorities of the coming year.  So with a few adjustments to my schedule and a confidence in my future, 2011 began.

I was blindsided.  My first three weeks of school felt like finals week every week.  Instead of having more time for my family, I had less.  I had less time for the things I valued, and I felt even less healthy than before.  Here we are, almost finished with the second month of the year, and I am just starting to breathe again after drowning in this unexpectedly hectic and overwhelming schedule.  I have to admit that at this point, my outlook for 2011 matches my initial thoughts on 2010 much more then I would like it to.  At this point, I feel discouraged and worn.  My hope for better things seems to be quickly fading.  I remember the joys I experienced last year, and feel disconnected from them.  But I know that God is over all, and He has not forgotten me.  He has always healed my sorrows in the past, and will do so again.  And even though 2011 seems very bleak to me right now, I have faith that it will bring good things.

In the mean time, here are some pictures from the first week in January:

Ammon sleeping - seems to be a rare moment so far this year.

Peter helped me make a red velvet cake.

Peter turned into a bumblebee.

The boys have played together.

Peter had fun being silly for the camera.

Sledding

We finished the year with a little sledding activity just outside our door in the courtyard.

Truthfully, it was bitter cold, and the snow wasn't great for sledding.

But the boys still had a good time.

After once or twice down the hill, Ammon made a snow angel.

Then he disappeared inside.

Peter lasted a little bit longer.

He had a fun time with our neighbors, who had invited us out.

After a while, the mom's decided WE were cold and ready to go back in.

I made a big batch of hot chocolate and we invited lots of people over.

Ultimately I had five or six children buzzing around my home.

As the oldest of six, I love the commotion of lots of kids.

It was a happy day.

All Day Long

The day after getting his SEVERAL Lego sets, Ammon woke up eager to get them built.

He barely took a bite of his breakfast before he was dumping legos onto the table.

I caught him as he was dumping the third set and stopped him from adding the fourth.

We did our best to sort the third one back out,

and so he began his project with only two sets blended together.

He built, and built, and built.

ALL DAY LONG.

We had friends come visit.

But he didn't stop.

I had to force him to eat lunch.

He got the first one done, then the second and even the third.

He finished the fourth set and then it was time.

The fifth and last set - Headquarters - was the biggest one of all.

He kept working:

Seven hours, eight hours, NINE HOURS.

After nine hours of non-stop building, he knocked something over and part of headquarters caved in.

So, before I knew what had happened, he had taken everything apart.

And decided to start over the next day.

10 Years Later (or something like that)

For my birthday, my in-laws offered to babysit so that Andy and I could have a night out.

But my mother-in-law and I were both in the middle of finals, so we took a raincheck.

Once school was done I started to look at the calendar to see when would be a good date night.

Andy suggested December 28 - the ten year anniversary of our first date.

That seemed like a fun idea, so we went with it.

It worked out perfectly and while Ammon had an extend the day party, Andy and I had date night.

Originally I had planned for us to go iceskating at the Gallivan Center.

I was going to make sure Andy held my hand and kissed me lots

(unlike the last time we skated there)

But when it came down to it, we decided it was much too cold.

Instead we decided to wander around the Gateway mall.

(Which, being an outdoor mall, wasn't much warmer.)

We had a nice dinner and enjoyed a movie together.

More than anything, though, we were just happy to be out with each other.

It was a pleasant evening - a nice anniversary.

Or so it seemed.

A couple of days later I realized that December 28th wasn't our first date at all.

Ooops.

We thought that maybe the 28th was the day I came home from my mission.

That would make it the anniversary of the day he first asked me out.

Turns out, that was the 27th.

So really, we went out on our special anniversary date on a very un-special day.

We realized that our first date was actually December 30.

But even though Andy remembered it wrong, I think it was sweet that he thought of it at all.

And that to him, ten years with me was worth celebrating.

Extending the Day

Pictures taken December 28, 2010

Andy's mom has a phrase that I have come to love.

When there are birthdays and holidays she often says that we will "extend the day".

And so, two days after Ammon's birthday, Grandma and Grandpa came by to do just that.

(Truthfully, they were there to babysit.)

But, since they were coming, they brought a party with them.

Grandma and Grandpa Shadel showed up with cake, ice cream AND presents!

Earlier in the day Ammon received a call asking what kind of cake he would like.

The question was meant to determine chocolate vs vanilla or something like that.

The answer:

A Transformer cake.

Ammon is lucky to have such an accommodating Grandma.

He was thrilled with the cake that came.

This is the first year I have really seen the benefit to having a birthday right after Christmas.

Grandma and Grandpa remedied Santa's mistake.

The presents they brought were more Legos!

(Ammon literally spent nine straight hours the next day building the different sets he got.)

Andy and I weren't here, but I understand that the evening went great.

The boys even did a good job going to bed for Grandma and Grandpa.

Often when we are putting Ammon and Peter to bed I want Peggy and Derrick to come back.

Bedtime just doesn't always go so well for us.

Thanks Peggy and Derrick!

We appreciate you.

Turning Seven

Just yesterday I was looking at pictures of days gone by.

I found myself staring into the face of five month old Peter and the three year old Ammon.

How I miss my baby Peter and my three year old Ammon!

They were so adorable at that stage.

Then I looked over to more recent pictures.

I saw my three year old Peter and my six year old Ammon.

And I remembered how adorable they are at this stage.

But already this stage is changing.

Ammon isn't six years old anymore.

He is a charming, vivacious, energetic, and just plain fun seven year old!

Pictures taken December 26, 2010

From the moment I learned I was expecting a baby - due January 11,

my goal was to get the birthday as far after Christmas as possible.

I was none too successful - only managing to get four hours and eleven minutes past the holiday.
Every year I feel like properly celebrating Ammon's birthday is a struggle.

It seems hard to compete with the celebration of Christmas.

This year we arranged for a slumber party with cousins Michael and Will.

They were planning to come over Monday night.

We spent the morning of Ammon's birthday attending church with grandparents.

Afterwards we stopped by my parents home for a visit.

It was there that Peter came down with a sudden and high fever.

Because scarlet fever had been going around our area,
Andy took him into the instacare right away.

Despite unexpectedly spending the day waiting for Peter,

it turned out to be a fun time.

We played Trouble many times and he won most of them.
Grandma and Grandpa gave him presents which included his very own game of SkipBo

So he also learned how to play that and we had a few rounds.

After lots of game playing, Ammon even decided to bake his own cake!
(Aunt Rebecca helped with that.)

Soon after the cake went into the oven, Peter and Andy returned from the doctor.

We lit the candles, sang Happy Birthday and ate our treat.

I was glad that Ammon was satisfied with this birthday celebration.

Peter, we learned, did have the strep germ and so we had to cancel the slumber party.

By the time we returned home, it was practically bed time.

Fortunately Andy reminded me that WE had a present for Ammon.

It hadn't gotten wrapped yet, so Andy just brought it out under a blanket.

Ammon was pretty excited about his remote control truck!

By this time, the medicine had helped bring down Peter's fever.

For the first time all day, he had some energy to play.

So the two of them had fun trying out the new toy.

Eventually we really did send them to bed.

And I ended my day grateful that Ammon's birthday was a miraculous success.

Why Didn't You Teach Me That Before?

I attribute much of the development of my childhood testimony to my mom, who was very deliberate and selective in exposing me to certain music.  One of the tapes I listened to had children songs based on the New Testament.  Many of those songs have impactful lessons that still influence my life.  A favorite of those songs was about Satan tempting Jesus during His 40 day fast.  One verse went like this:

Come, Satan said, I know you must be hungry.

Use your power now to turn this stone to bread.

But Jesus said to Satan, there's more to life than bread.

Like trying to live by every word of God instead.

And then there was the chorus, that has always stuck with me:

Jesus knew who He was

And He didn't need to prove it.

Not even to Himself.

He just stayed very calm

And He went about His business

Making sure He did the work His Father wanted Him to do.

As a parent I have often found myself in situations where Ammon is distressed because he knows he is right about something, but there is someone else who disagrees.  I usually try to talk him down from it:

"Ammon, you know you are right, and I know you are right, so it doesn't matter what [insert name here] thinks."

And that works pretty well.  But today, on the way to church, when Peter was disagreeing with him about something, and he needed that reminder once again, I elaborated.  I told him about this song.  About the lesson he can learn, not from me, but from the Savior.  He understood it immediately and responded by simply asking "Mom, why didn't you teach me that before?"

And I have to wonder - why didn't I?  I wanted to say that I was waiting for him to get old enough to listen or to understand.  But I realized (again) that children understand a great deal at very young ages - particularly as it pertains to gospel truth.

There is nothing that has brought my life more peace, joy, understanding, direction and happiness than my knowledge of the Savior.  And although I think I am teaching my children those same lessons that bless me, it turns out that there are parts that are slipping through the cracks.

Today I was reminded to do even better - to place a greater emphasis on and more completely teach the knowledge I have of a loving Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ.  So that my children can be blessed as I have been.