Whiting's cabin...

Thursday morning, Russ and I were in bed talking about whether or not we should leave for the weekend, since we had stake conference - (which only means no obligations for us!)...he had work to be done up in Cedar City, and some of our friends had invited us up to their cabin for the weekend, but we were both afraid of the roads getting up there, and whether or not it would be worth all the work in the end. But once we decided to stop thinking about it, and GO - it was definitely all worth it. We stopped by and surprised the Jensen's, and the let kids get re-aquaited for a little bit, which was an extra bonus.


We got to just hang out, and relax, and enjoy how beautiful the winter can be when you don't have to be in it everyday!



We also go to go to the BYU basketball game, which makes an extra happy husband. My parents have season tickets to they also went with all of us, and we were able to spend some time with my family, as well as the Houghs! For such a short amount of time, we got lucky and got to see friends and family, without feeling so overwhelmed and stressed out!

 

The kids had so much fun in the snow, which was also a surprise to me. They have never really played much in it, and when we decided to take them sledding, they had a ball!! (Thank you Lesa for letting us borrow the coolest sled ever!! Max wouldn't have been the same without it!) But even after they were done sledding, they still wanted to have snowball fights, run around in it, and just have fun. We had such a good time, and nobody was too cold, which was another surprise!

The kids loved going to Gramma Nana's and "shoveling" her sidewalk for her...we wished that we could have stayed longer! They both screamed for awhile when we made them leave my parents house...silly me thought they would be relieved to go back to the "warmth" of home!

Another Jackson moment...

For the last few weeks, we have been telling the boys that we will not be bringing so many snacks to church anymore, because we moved into a brand new stake center, and the bishop has asked us to try and teach our children reverence and respect for a beautiful new building. (strongly meaning stop feeding your children through sacrament meeting!) So yesterday, I told Jackson that he was only allowed one pack of fruit snacks - something that could not be so crumbly and messy on the ground! A few minutes later, I see all his snacks laid on the carpet - under the bench, and he's "sneaking" them one by one under the bench as well. I told him to get up and to get the snacks off the dirty floor, and he looks at me, confused, and says, "but mom, I don't want Bishop Waldron to see me eating snacks!"....ahhhhh, the things that we learn from our children. I learned my lesson. Don't tell a child what the rule is, and then "assist" them in bending the rule. Dumb mom, dumb.

We want the "UMWAYS!!"

I have to blog this, because I think it's so funny...I stole this picture off my friend, Janet's blog, because I haven't had a chance to take any pictures of these cute boys yet, but this has become the family joke lately. My boys have NEVER asked to play with friends more than once, and rarely even ask to have specific friends over. They are usually just happy playing with each other, which I think is sweet. But lately, this funny obsession has crept in, and every hour of the day, Jackson is asking to play with the Shumways, or if he can go over to the Shumways, or when we are having them over, etc. He shrieks with excitement when he sees them at church, and asks Max all the time if he loves "Brother and Sister Shumway," which I think is funny, because we don't call them that - but they used to be Max's nursery leaders, so he obviously heard it at church. Anyway, they absolutely adore these boys, and I think it's sweet and cute. Aaron and Janet, I repeat myself again YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MOVE OUT OF THIS AREA!

Grammi & Papa's weekend!

The kids were so excited to have Grammi and Papa all to themselves last weekend, and with everything else that has been going on, I forgot to blog this! Grammi was even laughing when I was taking pictures of the weekend, saying, "Now you will have something to blog!" -It's sad but true....I don't get around to blogging unless something out of the ordinary has happened...but anyway. The boys were spoiled and got to go to Circus Circus, which I don't think Russ or Papa will be repeating for a very long time if they have a choice! (No, they were both really good sports, but after about an hour and a half, they both looked a little green in the face, and were reminded why we don't love to ride on "circus" type rides very much. Jackson and Max had a blast, though, so that's what counts, right?

Max also had a blast with Papa building with their new blocks, while Jackson loved to do what a four-year old does best, which is wrecking the masterpiece that his younger brother had tried so hard to create. What would we ever do without visits from our grandparents to spoil us rotten???

 

Aunt Sparklie's visit!

 

We had such a fun visit with Russ's youngest sister, Allie, who came to visit for the last 4 days. We got to go to the UNLV/BYU basketball game, (which was not a pretty ending!!) see all the fishes and sharks at the Shark Reef with Grammi, (who came and stayed for a day) enjoy each other's company for lunches, and find some rare things at a few stops at Ross! The boys loved Allie's attention, and took more than their share of it while they could...as soon as we dropped her off today, the first thing Jackson said was, "Mom, why did Allie have to leave already?" - meanwhile, Max was whining, "AAAAEEEE!!! AAAAAEEEE!" I think he thought I had "left" her there - or forgotten her, and was upset that I wasn't turning around. We had a great time Al, and we love you! Thanks for spending a few days with us and for all your help!

Jackson's moments...again

I have to write them down somewhere, so here's where they are going. Jackson has said some really funny things lately, so I need to record them. The other day, we were driving in the car, and Jackson asked me if he could go to "Old Men's with daddy tonight..." I was so confused, and couldn't figure out what he was talking about, until he said, "I want to go to Chuck-E-Cheese with dad tonight!" Ah-ha! He meant YOUNG MEN'S...not OLD men's, but I guess they seem really old to him??!!

The next one was about his birthday...he has now figured out this year that having a birthday at Christmas time really isn't all it was cracked up to be, and asked me if his birthday was always going to be the same day. When I replied yes, he said, "But I don't want it to be that day anymore! I want a birthday in Septem-brary!" Again, don't have a clue who's birthday is in September - or Septembrary for that matter, but I thought it was awfully cute. He keeps us on our toes all the time, asking questions that I just don't have the answers for.

Tis the new year...

I don't know where the time goes, but blogging can get so behind in the shuffle of all the excitment....we have had such a busy start to our new year! Between figuring out a new year in primary, sharing time, my boys, playing volleyball, time with my hubby....there's not a lot left. But we are all healthy and happy, and that's the most important. I missed posting pictures of our new year, so here it goes....
We had quite the memorable night - to say the least! Russ's big work contact put on quite the show at the Rio, and his company paid for us to go - as well as a couple of our friends! ($1,000 a plate is not a cheap thing! We were so lucky!) So Chris and Amber Whiting came with us, who sure made the night a lot more fun and a lot more entertaining! We got all dressed up in formals, and danced and ate the night away. I think we had over 5 rounds of appetizers, a couple rounds of main courses, and a couple rounds of desserts...it was yummy and sickening all at the same time. It was something that we probably won't get to ever do again, and something that should be done at least once in your lifetime! Like I said, a memorable experience for sure...