The 'Burg

A couple weekends ago (yep, I'm falling a little behind) we took a little roadtrip to a place that is very near and dear to Aaron's heart:

Aaron spent many a summer in Rexburg, visiting his grandparents and meeting up with cousins at family reunions, and later attending Ricks College/BYU-Idaho. It was fun to take our family to visit Rexburg, and share in a peice of something that holds special memories for Aaron.

After Hank and Max tore apart Robyn's house, I'm not sure we'll be invited back again soon, but the boys had fun playing with their cousins, especially taking a tractor ride with their Uncle D. Its such a treat to live near enough Robyn's family to be able to attend special events, like the blessing of our newest little nephew--such a cutie!

Inspirational Thought of the Day

Happy 30th (gulp) Birthday to Me!

Thirty. Three - zero. The Big Three-Oh. As in not twenty something any more. As in half way to sixty. Midlife you could say. Who me?! Grey-haired, wrinkled-under-the-eyes, sweat-suit-wearing, mother-of-four (almost), minivan-driving, mortgage-paying, dinner-by-5 and bed-by-11? Yep, thats me--glamorous and exciting thirty-year-old me! But really, aside from the astronomically HUGE number, I don't think 30 is so bad. What 30 lacks in the wild, carefree, spontaneity of the 20s, it makes up for in a feeling of self-discovery, inner-contentment, and maybe even maturity. I feel more at peace with who I am, what I am, what I believe, what my purpose is, and where I am going than I have ever before experienced. Clarity. It feels good! Now if I could figure out how to have that itty-bitty, firm, tanned little bikini body of ten years ago, combined with the emotional/spiritual stability I feel I'm just now beginning to enjoy--that would be the best of both worlds!

Spent the birthday morning at the urgent care clinic with my wheezy, asthmatic Maxy. See? Glamorous.

I felt so guilty for traumatizing Max at the doctor's office that we stopped by the bakery to grab these little cupcakes. Ha! I can still be spontaneous!

Aaron, I love you to bits, but don't ever go into the party-planning business. The night before my birthday, Aaron apologetically confessed that he hadn't made any plans for my birthday celebration. Luckily for us both, my expectations were relatively low--and, I am a planner! So, we left the boys with Nana and Papa (thank you!) and spent the evening doing two of my favorite things: shopping and eating! Being that I am in semi-denial about my seven-month prego state, the shopping wasn't the most successful. But, I did get to spend an evening out with the man I love the very most, I felt very special and very loved, and thats what counts. And, just so you know, honey, I'm taking a raincheck on that shopping spree ;)

Long Overdue

Due to a combination of moving/disorganization, and, well....laziness....I'm just now getting around to updating the blog with all of the latest and greatest. So, whats new with these guys?

Hank:
Hank has been the biggest helper lately! Its awesome! He carried his fair share of boxes on moving day and has been great about helping me get things organized. It makes me so happy when he tells me that he loves our new house...I'm not surprised; he'd probably be just as happy living in a tent if it had a trampoline in the backyard and his grandparents in the basement. I am just beaming I am so proud of Hank for how well he is doing in his new Kindergarten class. I walked him to his class on his first day of school and he just joined right in, gave me a big hug, smiled, and waved goodbye to me as I left. In just the few days he has been in school here, the lightbulb seems to have turned on and he has figured out how to read! Its so exciting! Lately, Hank loves to play board games, build with his Lego sets, and is really loving having some cousins to play with.

Max:
Although I'm not sure how much of this whole moving thing Max understands, he's just been happy to be along for the ride. He hasn't asked for much of an explanation for anything...where are we? why is dad home so much lately? why is everything different? He knows that we're together, and thats enough for him! Max started sunbeams last week--and loved it! Since Max was the clingy-est kid in nursery, I was prepared for a separation meltdown, but he loved Primary! Max is so happy to be surrounded by his family and his grandparents and is the perfect little buddy: helping me throw laundry into the washer, helping dad take garbage outside, watching a movie with Nana, or helping Papa with a project. Max's favorite things to do right now include playing with play-doh and his garbage truck collection.

Ben:
This little boy has been enjoying his vacation from therapy, but still hasn't stopped going, going, going. With the placement of a few strategic gates, Ben is enjoying free reign of the house, pulling up onto furniture and cruising, getting into drawers and tipping over boxes, and, just the other day, learning how to climb stairs! So proud of this boy! Don't worry, the vacation is over, and Ben is going back to work, starting therapy next week. I will say, when I took Ben to nursery in our new ward, I actually had a few tears, thinking of our special Orting Ward family and all of the love that they shared for Ben. I know it won't take Ben long to warm the hearts of all of his new friends here...you just can't help falling in love with this boy!

Welcome to Utah!

The boys were excited to test-drive their new Christmas snow-suits when we finally got a little snow this weekend. The snow didn't stay for long in this beautiful sunny weather, but I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to play in the snow all winter long.

Resolutions

Rather than making resolutions that we forget in two weeks and never keep, our family has begun a tradition of selecting one scripture to memorize and recite each day as a family for the entire year. Last year we chose Philippians 4:13 "I can do I things through Christ which strengtheneth me." The boys memorized the scripture, we recited it together each night before family prayer, and I know it definately helped me to feel uplifted and focused, each and every day, all year long.

This year, we picked Proverbs 3: 5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." This scripture captures my resolution for 2012 perfectly: to trust the Lord in all things and pray for Him to reveal the next step in our journey. Can't wait to see all of the GOOD things that He has in store for our family this year!

Bringing in the New Year

Having just unloaded a mountain size worth of boxes, and still feeling a bit overwhelmed, we decided to keep our New Year's Eve celebrations low key this year. We joined our Utah cousins for a get-together at Aunt Bonnie's house (so nice to have cousins to play with any family nearby! Thanks for all the moving help, Hinkleys!) and then came back home and invited some good friends over for homemade icecream. We had good intentions of spending the night playing games with our friends, but the kids didn't cooperate with our plans, so we wished them a Happy New Year, put our boys to bed, and Aaron and I capped off the night with a bottle of Martinelli's and a movie.

Cheers to a Happy 2012!