Winter Activities

When we told the brothers we were moving, the first thing Tanner needed to know was if the house had a track. A track? Yes, a track. I allow them to ride their scooters and anything else that might happen to have wheels on it around our house. Don't worry, we have an envelope labeled "floors" that we periodically put money into so that in five years we can refinish them! Our last house had a pretty cool "track" and so I can see how this was a big concern for our 4 year old. Luckily, the new house has a "track" and it seems to fit their needs just perfectly!

Where did January go??

Oh my goodness has it really been since January 9th since I last posted! Where has the month gone? So much has gone on and I have so much to say! Stay tuned! It's all good!

Skiing!

Last Saturday morning we kicked off the day wit ski lessons! Tanner and I took ski lessons up at Bogus and had a blast! We left Carter with Uncle Chris and Aunt Cammie and Hadley stayed with my mom and Tyler,Tanner and I headed up to ski! I have to admit I was nervous as all get out! I don't like heights so just the thought of getting on the chair lifts and being lifted up to the top of a steep hill didn't really sound appealing. But, I watched Tanner do it last year as a 3 year old so I figured I could get some courage and do it too! I have to say that the first time I rode up on the chair lift it stopped as I was half way up the mountain on what I perceived to be the highest part of the lift and scared the living day lights out of me! I had to act all cool and brave though because I was riding up with another girl in my lesson class who wasn't afraid at all! She didn't even hold on, while I had the death grip on the bar! I suppose this was better than if I was riding up with Tyler because then I might have really allowed myself to be scared and possibly shed a few tears! Then, the lift started up again and I was even able to get off the chair without biffing it into the snow ! Hooray! Skiing down that hill was so invigorating and quite possibly one of the most fun experiences I have had in a long time! I am so happy I did this, skiing is so much fun! I am very excited to have found a winter hobby we can all do as a family!

Tanner and Mommy! Ski lessons here we come! Our lessons classes ended up being kind of together so I got to ski with the big guy a few times! He is really great and a lot faster than me! As I was skiing down the hill for the last time, Tyler was standing at the bottom watching for us. I started waving and almost lost my balance, but I didn't fall! Thank goodness!

Tanner and Mommy after ski lessons! It was a beautiful day up at Bogus! We can't wait to go back next weekend!

New Year's 2011

Welcome 2011! I am very excited for this year, I have a great feeling that lots of wonderful things are in store for us!

I have my New Years Resolution and it is in full swing already. There wasn't much I had to do to make this resolution effective, all I had to do was decide. So, here is how it's going to play out (at least I hope!) I plan on being able to stop messing around with all the crap that periodically happens. I'm not going to act like it isn't there or anything-this is no fairytale after all, I am just going to "Change it, Accept it, or Leave it." I know this is easier said than done, especially the acceptance part. I am not big on accepting things, especially when they suck. I just can't sit back and accept stuff that sucks, can I get an Amen? I will have to try to change it before I decide to leave it or accept it. I feel like acceptance is usually a last resort for me!

Another part of the kick off of 2011 is starting another blog. Yep, another blog. This one has a purpose and a timeline, which will result in an end goal. Much of my life right now deals with what happens with kids under the age of 4. I love this very much, don't get me wrong, but I miss parts of me before these 3 little precious cherubs blessed my life. I miss the way my marriage was before kids and I miss being able to go to lunch or coffee or shopping or anything with my girlfriends before kids. We get together at places that have play lands. I have written to Starbucks, Moxie Java and Tulley's all asking for play lands within their wonderful coffee houses but apparently that isn't the demographic they want to cater to. Darn it! I get it though, becuase on tose rare occasions when I go to coffee, the last thing I want to hear is kids! I love my girlfriends to death and they all have kids so they get it. It's just as hard for them to have lunch with me sans kids as it is for me with them. They get it, they live it, and we all love each other. My marriage is the most special thing I have. I love Tyler and I think he is the best man, husband and father in the entire world for me and our kids. However, marriage changes ten fold when you have kids, especially multiple kids because the more you have, the more chances you have of someone having an issue, being sick, needing something, anything, everything. Oh, babysitters are a little harder to come by and with 3 kids you usually need 2, that tacks on a bit more expense to an evening out as well! As I write this right now, Hadley is laying on a blanket on the floor with a fever, Carter is on the chair with me, and Tanner is messing around in one of the desk drawers. So, my thoughts might not be complete right now, but I can get out the gist of it! I LOVE my kids. But I LOVE my marriage too. My marriage was here before kids and it will be here after kids and I want to focus on it. Kids change marriages, there is no arguing that. In the last 5 years our marriage has grown stronger and stronger and I can't imagine my life without Tyler, he is amazing and never seems to stop amazing me. I made a pact to stop focusing so much on my kids milestones and reading kids books and just let my kids be kids. It has been refreshing most of the time to watch Tanner, Carter & Hadley and not anticipate what they should be doing! I have kept that pact 100%. This made me turn my attention more towards my marriage. I picked up this awesome book which I am going to do a daily blog on until the goal is reached. Then I will recap and that will be the end! It's a "marathon" of sorts and right now we are in the "training" part of it. I am going to have my first entry of the new blog be about the training and plan on having it up and running by Monday. I'm not going to have it linked to this blog though, if you find the blog; wonderful, if you want the link, email me.........I am hoping that I am not alone in all this. Marriage with kids, little kids to be exact, is very different. I feel like it is not talked about very much either. At least I never talked about marriage with multiple kids before I had kids. So, I am opening the door and letting you all in. Let's talk about, let's not feel alone in it, let's Change It! Happy New Year!

December in a nut shell!

December was a very busy month for our family! We kicked off the beginning of the month by moving into a new home. We are very excited, we very fortunate to have been able to make this move, and love our home! It fits our family very well and we are looking forward to many many years of making memories in it! Moving with 3 kids, snow, rain and just plain cold weather was not the most ideal situation but we made it work. In fact, we are still making it work because I think I go back to the old house a few times a week and take more loads in between anxiety attacks and just feeling completely overwhelmed! Nothing a few deep breaths and a good cup of coffee can't fix! Hopefully someday the old house will be empty and sold!

Our realtor got us this cute little cookie bouquet! It was also very delicious!

We made Ginger bread houses one afternoon and the boys had a blast!


I did not read the directions when I made Carter's and so he has a flat roof which they kindly call "The Cabin"! Gotta love it!

Hadley loves her new home and has adjusted very well to the move! She even had 2 little bottom teeth poke through last week! Tanner adjusted wonderfully to the move too! Carter loves the new house and has adjusted great except he has definitely had a regression in his potty training since the move. I have been trying to find a good balance between bribery, compassion and understanding without getting upset! I'm still trying! Hopefully one of these days he will just snap out of it! I have heard form numerous people say that the most traumatic things in little kids lives are births of new babies and moves and this little kid has had both in the last 6 months!



Tanner in the backyard! This was the only picture I took the weekend Dad and Sue came to visit! I could kick myself! We had a wonderful time visiting with them and celebrating an early Christmas too! We love it when they come up to visit and wish we could see them more often! We are anxiously awaiting the private jet timeshare purchase!

Because of all the moving, Christmas came faster than it usually does! I did not decorate to the nines inside the house like I usually do and Tyler did not act like Clark Griswold with the outside lights either. There were definitely moans from Tanner as to all that. Luckily Christmas comes every year and I will make it up to all of them next year!

I did manage to order Hadley's stocking at the very last minute (I got in on the free shipping deal though!), find the rest of the stockings and hang them all in time for Christmas! We did put up the tree too but did not put ornaments on it, they must be in another bin!

The kids and I made cookies for Santa and he left them a nice little note! We also left carrots for the reindeer and there was talk of seeing reindeer tracks on the back patio Christmas morning! Its an absolute blast around here for Christmas! Christmas Eve and Christmas day was spent with family and we couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

Tanner sledding at the cabin New Years weekend. Daddy surprised us by leaving work early on Thursday so we were able to get to Cascade early in the afternoon and spend some much needed family time up there!


Cammie and Hadley New Years Eve at the cabin! She and Chris were up in McCall for the weekend and came over for dinner and some Wii Friday night! It was great! Cam can really rock the Wii Mario Brothers!

Daddy pulling Tanner behind the snowmobile........not exactly mother approved but they were very safe and did have a GREAT time! Boys will be boys and my 3 are the best!

Tanner and Daddy on the snowmobile! They trekked all over the place and went on actual rides around the lake, over the dam, and all over! It was great!

Carter and Daddy on the snowmobile! Not quite as daring as his older brother, he did enjoy riding around the cabin!

Daddy making a snow angel!

Hadley played too!

Carter and Tanner at breakfast New Years Eve morning!

Hadley! She is new to the food scene! Just started experiencing all kinds of yummy pureed goodies a few weeks ago! Loves it all!

The Sterlings joined us at the cabin for a New Years Eve slumber party. We had a blast! Here is Chelsea, Tanner and Makayla! The kids really partied it up too!

Smiley Sissy! Happy New Year! We love you!

New Year's Rockin' Eve! Hadley rocked her flower headband for our big New Years bash! Justin, Lisa, Tyler and I all made it to midnight! It was so fun! Hadley even woke up to ring in the New Year with us while all the "big" kids stayed sound asleep in their beds! We had such a great time saying hello to 2011 with such great friends! I've got my New years resolutions almost all hemmed up and I can't wait to share them with all of you so I can be held accountable! A few are realistic and a few are dreams, like Le Bella Vita in Italy (someday, just not in 2011!)

I walked downstairs and had to laugh out loud! The kids were playing so well, but boy were they playing! One of the pictures above the bed was knocked crooked, toys were everywhere and the kids were dancing and singing! It was hilarious!

The nightstand where the kids slept and played! I don't know why this strikes me as so funny, but it does! With the toys, the singing, dancing and crooked pictures on the wall, the icing on the cake was the nightstand with 2 juice boxes and a sippy cup with the book rack full of kids books! 2010 went out with a bang for these kids! My have our New Years changed over the past 5 years!

As keeping with the bedtime routine, Justin read the kids 5 books before they all went to sleep. And they all went to sleep and stayed in their beds asleep all night long! It was amazing! Here's to 2011!

The girls watching Tanner play his LeapFrog. This picture is precious!

Tanner showing Chelsea the view of Cascade!

Tanner and Carter at Tanner's preschool before his Christmas singing show!


Tanner and his sweet preschool teacher, Mrs. Limdemood!

Tanner singing in his preschool Christmas show! These little shows are just priceless!