Weekend Warriors!

Our last couple weekends have been AMAZING!  Filled with friends, family, food, and yes, even sunshine.

My step-sister, Nora and her hubby, Micheal, came for a weekend visit.  We hit the farmer's market, Boise Fry Co., The MK nature center, walked the greenbelt, and ended at the art museum.  We almost convinced them to move to Boise.... but then they remembered that their jobs and real families are in Orem.  :)

Micheal is an art teacher, so he showed off his skills in the experiential room.

The girls and I went to a birthday party at Monkey Bizness on Saturday, and my friend and I decided to be super cool and climb the rock wall.  My girls barely paused long enough to see me up there.  :)  I know it's just a kiddie rock wall, but it was still fun and exciting.

Next up, Easter weekend.  My in-laws always do an awesome egg hunt for the grandkids.  This year was especially great because Ty was so stinkin' cute!  He quickly understood which eggs were his, and he loved running around the yard to fill his basket.  Monday morning he was soooo happy opening up his eggs and eating candy for breakfast!

This last shot is going to be a favorite of mine for the rest of my life.  All the grandkids in grandma and papa's apricot tree.

The Tale of the Twice Lost Tooth

When I picked Bronwyn up from school on Thursday, she was absolutely BEAMING!  She usually gives me a pretty big smile, but that day I could tell something really exciting had happened.  She held up her hand to me, opened it, and inside was a little tooth!

Her first lost tooth!

I kept telling myself to take a picture, but then I would get distracted.  And before I could snap a shot of her new smile, she pulled out her second tooth of the day!  After which, I immediately took this...

When her teeth first started to wiggle, we made a little tooth box to be ready for the big day.  She carried her teeth around all evening, which totally stressed me out.  I was super worried that she would lose her teeth before the Tooth Fairy could come and get them.  And at 5 minutes before bed, she threw a tantrum, knocked the box over, and both teeth went flying.

We took to the carpet and started searching.  I quickly found one tooth and handed it to her to put in her tooth box.  About a minute later she told me she had again LOST the tooth I just handed her!  A minute later I found a tooth.  No idea which one.  But we never did find both of them.  EW!  Who knows where it is now.  Really hoping the vacuum finds it before anyone else does.

I thought for sure tears would be involved, but Bronwyn just shrugged it off and wrote a letter explaining the situation to the Tooth Fairy.  And when 2 dollars were found in the morning, Bronwyn assured me that the Tooth Fairy had found the second tooth.

I sprinkled glitter around to be Fairy Dust, but she didn't fall for it.  She just gave me a weird look and said it was glitter.  :)

And how lucky am I that she wanted to leave her tooth box downstairs on the counter?

WAY too much fun!

Apparently, I have been way too busy enjoying myself to blog.  :)  So here is a quick wrap up off some fun things we've done so far this year.  Starting with the BSU vs. USU basketball game (way back in January!).  This was Todd's Christmas gift from me, and it was such a blast!  So fun to be at a sporting event... hearing the music, watching the dancers, feeling the energy.  Oh yeah, and the game.  We were half of the USU fans there, and it was great to see our AGGIES take the win!

I have also been enjoying some fun nights out with my girls.  My friend Jen, (the beauty in pink) is an amazing violinist.  So a group of us from church went to hear her play.  Wonderful music and great company.  I love having a group of music friends!

Here I am with some of my high school friends.  I love having old friends here.  Helps me feel young, and keeps in the loop of all the gossip back home.  :)

I have almost started to believe that Spring is on it's way.  One day with alot of sunshine, we met Todd at the park for a picnic.  It was so great to be outside.  And even better to have time as a family during the day!

I know what you're thinking:  Cutest boy ever!

The girls have been having lots of fun lately, too.  This week Magsy's preschool class went to the zoo.

And just today, Brownyn got to eat lunch in the school cafeteria for the first time.  Todd and I both went to eat with her, and there was alot of excitement in the air!  The kids were so cute!

This one really brought back alot of memories!  I remember my parents coming and eating lunch with me a couple times a year.  How can I have a kid old enough to eat school lunch?

"Golden Day"

On April 5th, my sweet Magsy Bear turned 5.  It's hard to believe.  She was soooo tiny for soooo long, that I fooled myself into thinking she was a baby for much longer than she really was.  Now I am paying the price.  I feel like she should only be 3!  She was very excited to turn 5.  I told her it was her golden year since she would be turning 5 on the 5th.  So all day on her birthday she kept saying "today is my golden day".

One great thing about Mags is that she is so naturally healthy.  She prefers fresh fruit to any other treat.  So I decided to make her a fruit pizza for her birthday cake.  She only ate the fruit!  She always stops eating when she is full, and sees the value in a good nights' sleep.  She is just as active and crazy as any other kid out there.  But when the day is done she looks forward to crawling into bed and sleeping.  One evening, when she seemed particularly tired, I told her she could go to bed early, and she was thrilled!  If she keeps this up, she is well on her way to a long and healthy life!

It is so fun to watch Magsy open presents.  She gets excited about everything, and acts like she has been waiting her whole life for whatever you have given her.  She was spoiled with arts and crafts, princess stuff, and a new blankie from Todd and me.

She has had the same blankie since she was about 6 months old!  That thing is so old and gross, and she is literally obsessed with it.  We have been warning her for several weeks that 5 year olds can't have their baby blankets.  So one of her presents is hopefully a big girl replacement blanket.  This may sound weird, but I am so proud that she has gone two days without her "beech" (what she started calling her blanket when she was a baby and never stopped!).  I thought for sure it would be much harder on her.

One of Magsy's favorite gifts was a surprise visit from Uma!  She spent her birthday in style a hotel with my mom and Bronwyn... eating treats, swimming, and watching movies!  We also had her birthday lunch at Red Robin with both grandmas.  Magdalen is actually named after her Bigelow Grandma.  Todd's mom, Todd's grandma, and Todd's great-great grandma are all named Magdalen.  We were thrilled to pass on the name to one of our daughters.

After lunch, I took Magsy on a date to the art museum.  She loves all sorts of art, and even hopes to have some of her work in an art museum someday.  She is such a little grown up!  We had a great time!

Magdalen is so easy to love, and such a joy to have in our family.  She is kind, sweet, and obedient.  She loves being helpful, and will tell me how much fun she is having when we are working together.  She is my sidekick.  She is easy to please, and often tells us that "today is the best day ever!".  She finds joy in the small things.  She loves to garden, sing, dance, cuddle, and play.  The only she doesn't like is eating!  I am blessed to have her as my daughter.  I love you, Magsy!

Reminders of my AGE

I'm starting to feel all grown up.  The signs are EVERYWHERE...

Fine lines (hurray)

Gray Hairs (oh joy)

Children in "real" school

But it gets WORSE!

Today as I reluctantly chose what to wear (do I wear something cute and totally impractical for a stay at home mom, or something that I will look horrible in but feel cozy?), I opted for my SKINNY jeans.  Not meaning skin tight, but my jeans that only fit when I'm skinny.  :)  It has been years since I donned these low rise beauties, complete with sparkles all over the back pockets.  I was pretty excited.  And in all honesty, my bum looked great.  But...

I can't stop pulling them up!  How did I ever wear pants these low?  The fact that all day I can't stop thinking about my high-rise "mom" jeans really shows that I am OLD!  

Example #2.  This weekend we went to Orem, and I spent a great night playing 'Dance Dance Revolution' with some younger (cough cough) family members.  I loved it!  Upon hearing that I had never played before, my family was shocked!  I then had to explain that people my age don't exactly get together and play videogames, lol!

Example #3.  Also in Orem, I found myself in a conversation with my step-sister's friend, who is currently in her 2nd semester of college.  She is also totally lost.  No major, no place to fit in.  She expressed the desire to take some fun/interesting classes, but is afraid to incase it hurts her GPA.  I remember being that girl.  Grades and achievement were so important to me.  How could they not be?  At that point in my life they were the main important thing in my life.  But now, looking back, I see that I should have relaxed and allowed myself to make mistakes, try new things, and even have a bit more fun.  

I now could see the bigger picture.  One bad grade won't really influence your future.  You probably won't even get a job in your major.  And college is pretty much the last time in your life that you have time to devote to developing new and unique interests... so why not take that pottery class you've been too intimidated to sign up for?

There's no turning back now.  I am officially passing down my wisdom to the next generation.  

PS:  I have done 2 posts today.  So keep scrolling if you want to see Ty's birthday.

I was pretty nervous when I found out we were expecting a boy.  I had NO idea how much I would LOVE having a little man in the house.  Baby Ty is the light of our family.  Always full of joy and energy.  None of us can get enough of him.  I can't believe he has been here for TWO years! 

 He really hammed it up at his party, and loved being the center of attention.  He was so excited to play with all his new toys. 

Ty is either smiling at you or scowling at you.  

Either way, he LOVED dipping his cake and fruit in the melted chocolate. 

I wish I could either go back and enjoy the last two years again, or fast-forward until he is 3 because I think this year is going to be the year that he really drives me crazy!  LOL!  He is our little monkey.  Climbing and jumping constantly.  I will be shocked if he makes it two more years without a broken bone!