Family and some fun

We got some really fun outfits in the mail from a vendor the other day and I couldn't wait to try them out on Mya, we'll be having a big photo shoot with all the cute clothes soon so I'll have to share once I have them done. :) Mya just loved trying them on for me, she's such a ham.

This is my adorable nephew Crewe who we got to see while camping a few weekends ago. Isn't he just the most adorable thing ever? I had to take a couple shots, I mean....how could you not?

A little more sass....

Here's my side of the fam up in the mountains, we look pretty tame here, but........ there's another picture that really shows our true selves. I totally posted it and it didn't show up! I'm so going to post it after I've had some sleep.

Here's my kiddos under my favorite tree at my parents' house. They love to hang out with grandma and grandpa and Mya likes to squish all of the apricots. I just love this series of shots.

Lately

Lately both Mya (16m) and Eli (3yrs) have been growing up like crazy! I turn around and Mya is now saying all kinds of little "words" and Eli has been saying lots of very profound things that sometimes make me think he's too smart to come from me, lol. Eli is very intuitive and he picks up on the littlest details and emotions that I have to be careful sometimes because he's becoming so much older than his age. Mya is a little spitfire and has quite the sassy attitude these days. She loves to dance and shake her booty to any beat that comes on and steals Eli's toys he's playing with when he looks the other way. He has a bowling set that he loves and he sets up all the pins so patiently and meticulously and the minute he turns around to grab his ball she runs as fast as she can to grab one of the pins and then bolts for either Taner or me to save her from Eli, laughing the whole time. It cracks us up.

She's now telling me "no" on everything and she has this look she gives me if the food I fix for her is not what she wanted. She even threw our remote in the trash. But then she's such a snuggler and a lover and we just can't get enough of these two.

Just this morning I asked Eli what he thought he wanted to be when he grew up and he thought about it really hard and then said ".....not batman......... just a man". I had to laugh.

They keep me on my toes!

Eli's 3rd Birthday

This has taken me WAY too long to post and I thought I'd better get caught up on all of my personal photos before the end of this month, March is already getting to be really busy! For Eli's 3rd birthday (can't believe my little man is 3) we went tubing at the county line and had so much fun! The weather turned out great and everyone loved riding on the tubes and the snowmobiles. Tan and I even took a few rides on a tube and almost thought we were going to die one time, hee hee. We took the wrong side down with all tons of rocks but were laughing so hard when we stopped-it was great!

I was so bummed I didn't get more pictures but I was actually watching Mya and making sure everything was running smoothly with the food, heaters and birthday cake. At least I snapped a few and Eli loved every minute of it! I think he especially liked the snowmobiles with his dad. The birthday was a success and thanks to everyone for such a great turnout and for all the help, we have the best family EVER!

Love you Eli :)

Just Chillin'

Yesterday was a very hectic day and it all started with a doctor's appointment that I had previously scheduled for both kids ending up being at an earlier time than I had planned. For some reason I felt like I should call in and double check and lucky I did because we ended up having to drop everything that second to make it there in 10 minutes! I had no shower, no makeup, the kids' hair was all crazy-funky and who knows what we were wearing, we probably looked homeless or very very ill to most people in the waiting room but I didn't know anyone there so it was all good. To make things worse, both of them were due for shots and I thought Eli would take it pretty well but we ended up having to bring another nurse in just to hold him down (sounds terrible, I know) and you would've thought he was dying by the screams and yelling, sheesh! Then, that made Mya cry because she was worried for Eli and she was next in line for 5 shots-FIVE!! Poor thing, but she totally handled it like a champ and only cried for a second, during which Eli was still sitting in the chair screaming and wailing. ( you know, that really big open-mouthed cry with tears and major snot running down?) The Doctor had to come in just to see if everything was okay and when we left the whole waiting room looked very worried, oops! So, we left with Eli still crying, me sweating up a storm because of all the craziness, and our fabulous bed hair and no shower. Yikes!

We all were kind of exhausted after that. :) Soooooo......we thought we'd stay in today and just chill with no where to go and nothing to do. Kind of nice! We played hungry hippos more times than I can count, lots of army dudes, ran circles around and around the couch (they'll do that for hours!), ate "nacks" or snacks I should say, and played in Eli's Buzz Lightyear tent. It didn't matter that Mya ate a marble from the hungry hippo game and somehow one of their toothbrushes ended up in the toilet....it's a day that I get to spend with the ones I love most and that's pretty amazing :)

More Important things....

Sometimes I feel like I have tunnel vision and the only things I focus on are the ones I consider the most important whether or not they are in the real scheme of things. Ugghhh..... I hate it when I do that and I look look down and I have my son trying to get my attention so I will play cars or watch him to a "special trick", things that I should be doing WAY more often. I've known that I have needed to work on balancing my time better between everyday household chores, photography and my family but I think I've been falling short....very short.

I was just over at a blog that I randomly visited from a friend of mine and was literally sobbing at a the family's story of losing their only little girl to a tragic accident. It described all that they went through, how hard it was to be without her and I just couldn't help but be so heartbroken for them. It makes me think of how lucky I am to have such sweet children who fill my day with the funny things they say and do, things that I love but also take for granted and would miss so terribly if I didn't hear them anymore. Things like my little Mya hanging onto my legs while I cook, tasting all of my creations and Eli climbing on the garbage can to get to the kitchen counter so he can see what we are making, him running as fast as he can saying "watch me go super fast like Rory, mommy!", Mya saying in her funny little way "Is that?" to everything she sees and so many, many more things that I just don't want to forget.

The couple that lost their little girl mentioned 2 things that they would do more had they know what was to happen and that was to pull out the video camera and video everything they could and write in a journal either daily or as often as possible so they could remember all the little things that are so easy to forget. That's another typical "Jenny" thing.....I have the journals and so many other projects in mind that I always mean to get done but never seem to finish. I really want to do this and think it's so important for me to write down the things they say because I've already forgotten so much even from this week. I sometimes get frustrated with the things they do and find myself being a little hard on Eli when he doesn't do things the way I think they should be done and after reading that story I soooooo need to lighten up on things. Life is too short and we only have them for a little while before they grow up and will do things on their own. I hope I can hold on to these small moments for as long as I can and remember how lucky I am to be their mother. I know they were given to me for a reason and I hope I can be the mother that I know I should be. They are such a blessing and I thank my Heavenly Father for entrusting me with their care. They bring so much joy to Taner and I and I can't imagine life without their sweet voices, them running down the halls and making life lovely and crazy at the same time.

Life is beautiful in so many ways.

Thanks to that family for opening my eyes when I needed it.

You can check out their blog here but be prepared for a tear jerker! You can even help by downloading Preslee's Song.....such a cute girl.

This week....

Boring? Laid back? Serene? Productive? Naaaaah....that's not how we do it here, lol! Let's just say it's been very comical, crazy and just plain chaotic the past couple of days.

I soooooo wish I had some pictures to prove just how it's gone down, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

Hmmmm.....I'll just give you a couple of things we've been up to.......

1. Christmas lights up and lit----check!
2. Christmas tree decorated and trimmed----check!
3. Christmas tree just too tempting to the kiddos--tree tips over
4. Redecorate tree, clean up water mess and ginormous load of pine needles
5. Vacuum gets plugged from all the pine needles but I am a super-vacuum fixer
6. Tree tips over for the second time
7. Redecorate, clean up, etc. etc.
8. Go Christmas shopping, post office, party store to get ready for both rugrats birthday parties
9. Arrive home, Christmas tree tipped over again
10. Redecorate, rewater and clean pine needles.
11. Make ginger bread house, eat all the candy off of it.
12. Put out Nativity scene, find a sheep in the toilet
13. Make christmas cookies
14. Sew some presents, come back in kitchen to find 15 cookies with one bite taken out of each
15. Laughing
16. Boys and Girls Club Party
17. Work party
18. Almost done with Clients' orders
19. Mya turns off computer while placing order with the lab
20. Re do orders, clients' orders finally done!
21. Christmas shopping, shopping, shopping
22. Realize I ate way too many cinnamon nuts-go for jog with kiddos in stroller-almost die from my out-of-shapeness
23. Tires flat on jogger stroller
24. Find huge pile of unrolled toilet paper in the closet with Mya in the middle, eating with a big smile
25. Make fabric birthday banners and decorations, send out invites
26. Dancing with the kiddos to really loud christmas music
27. Mya standing and dancing all by herself
28. Eli clinging to my leg and laying on the floor when it's his turn to see Santa (poor guy, I think it was kind of traumatic)
29. Snowmobiling
30. Flying around the house with Eli and our "towel capes" pretending to be superman and jumping on the furniture
31. Laundry, Laundry, Laundry
32. wrapping
33. Lots and lots of Christmas stories and movies, making snowflakes and having fun!

Phewww!!! That's not even all of it! LOL I usually find that most everything strange and weird that happens is later really funny so I just have to remind myself of that when I feel like I'm falling apart and my house is ashambles.

There's so many other little moments that I always forget too and I need to be better about writing down the things Eli says.....he's so stinkin' smart and funny. His new thing now is "there's a fire hydr-wunt" every time he sees one, cracks me up! Oh and he's also told me that my hair is "wacky" a few times now......hmmm.....

So, if any of you seem to be having one of these weeks too, you're not alone and you're probably way more productive and organized than me. Somehow I didn't get that gene.

I still love this time of year though and even though my tree looks a little worse for wear, it's still beautiful and it's been fun having Eli be really into Christmas this year.

xo ~Jen

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Happy Haunting!

We had so much fun this Halloween, Eli was really in the spirit of things and loved watching Taner carve all the pumpkins, ha ha! We thought it would be great for the kids, but it turns out us big kids get into it just as much :) Mya doesn't look as enthused about the whole thing, apparantly the dried worm on the sidewalk was way more interesting, and being forced to take a family picture by the carved masterpieces was just not her idea of a good time. Hilarious!

We also had a party, complete with fabulous costumes, delicious treats and of course....the usual "suspects". This was the last night we got to spend with my Grandma and Grandpa before they headed to Arizona for the winter and we are really going to miss them. They lived about a mile or two away and it was the perfect jogging distance for me and the kids to take the stroller and go and spend a fun afternoon. I can't tell you how many times we've had them over and we've been over to their place, enjoying the summer and hanging out. They are so much fun and were great to have as last-minute babysitters if you know what I mean :). Who will I harass now? ha ha

So, needless to say I was quite sad to see them go and then Taner left soon after to go on a week-long hunting trip so I've been missin' the hubster a bit these last few days. Wow, talk about a pity party, sheesh! Moving on! LOL

We had a blast at our party and then went trick-or-treating and Eli was a pro! He didn't even want any of us to go up to the door with him and he got the idea pretty quick. It was perfect weather, perfect company and such a great time. I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween as well!

Lovin' me some Grim-Reaper, ha ha!
Oh, and these "bag-head" costumes were so great! Go mom and dad!


I love how Taner thinks he can get away with not looking at the camera with his sneaky costume on.....I see you Mr. Grim Reaper.....you can't fool me!
We still aren't really sure what Grandma and Grandpa were, but they get the award for creativity, ha!
If that isn't scary, I don't know what is.....

Patchin' It

Who doesn't love this time of year? The kids had a blast at the pumpkin patch, there were animals, a maze, yummy treats and a raspberry patch you could pick your own raspberries in. It was so fun for me just to watch them pick out their pumpkins and enjoy the evening. Mya loved sitting in the patch and eating the grass while Eli was jumping on all the hay bails in the maze. He's so coordinated and athletic which he did NOT get from me....thank goodness he didn't get my goofy clumsiness or we'd be in trouble, ha ha! They even had all of this flavored honey that I thought was so good- along with some fabulous flavors of popcorn (smore, peanut butter, etc.) and all kinds of homemade soaps and lip balms. It was so cute! Hope you all have a wonderful Halloween, we've been looking forward to it for quite some time :) Let the spookiness begin!!

.Mi Familia.

Gotta love a true love story.......my mom and dad are still so in love and you can tell by their smiles and happiness. The last one just cracks me up every time, it's good to be able to laugh at each other and I had so much fun watching them through my camera-they are too cute! Love you mom and dad!

.Our Family.

We finally got our family pictures done and I'm so thrilled with how they turned out! You can check them out here on my photo blog :)

.date night.

We finally got out and caught up on some much-needed "us" time. Nothing fancy, just a quick trip to Boise for a one-night stay, dinner, and a movie, me and the Tan Man. Ahhhhh.....we've been going a 100 miles an hour lately and you forget just how nice it is just to sit and actually talk just the two of us. Tan is so much fun and I just happen to love the guy like ca-RAZY!! Thanks Gma and Papa for watching the kids, we had a great time :)

.Independence Day.

We had so much fun this fourth of July. We spent it with family and enjoyed the laid back approach. Grandma and Tom hosted, and they had a delicious Sunday bar with all the toppings you could imagine. Eli was in heaven!! I had such a good time watching Eli really get into the fireworks this year....he's now at the age where he loves them and was saying " that one's my favorite" after each one went off. Mya slept through the whole firework show but she still got to enjoy eveyone's company. Thanks guys for a fabulous time, it was so nice and relaxing! Love you much :)