Ammon

It's been a big week for this boy. He will turn seven in June! I can't believe it. Truly I can't. It breaks my heart. The other day he said, "Mom the days seem like they are going fast. Does it seem that way to you too?" Way, way too fast Ammon!


Last night Ammon lost his first tooth. It was right before he went to bed so the tooth fairy was already out making his/her rounds. I'm sure they will come tonight (wink). It had been loose for a few months and Ammon finally decided to give it a good pull and it fell out on the ground. He took it to school today to show his class.

Wednesday night he performed a star role in the play Little Red Riding Hood. He was the big bad wolf. Pretty much the opposite of who he is! I work in his classroom once a week (his school provides daycare for parents who volunteer) and his teacher informed me before she gave out parts for the play that Ammon was petitioning to be the wolf. He told her he could growl really loud and run really fast. He sold himself well because he was given the part. When he came home with the lines to rehearse I was pretty worried because it was a lot to memorize. I think he was born to act because he learned his lines very quickly with little help from me. He even had three solo songs. It was adorable and we couldn't have been more proud. They had a dress rehearsal before the big night for the other first grade classes. After the rehearsal kids came up to him on the playground and asked if he was the wolf and told him he was a really good wolf. He too was very proud!

Ammons school work has really taken off this year. He's reading so well and putting things together quickly. It's so much fun to see your kids learn. I just love this boy. Such a do gooder and all around fun, easy, sweetheart.

V-day

Rylee's best buddy Lucas

Cohen and his buddy Maddie

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day. The night before Jody and I went to see the movie Valentine's Day and then went to dinner at Johnny Garlic's. The movie was surpisingly cute.

I made the kids pink, heart shaped pancakes for breakfast and then we went to church. After naps we went with the Hartman family on a hike in Foothill and then came home and had dinner. It was all very nice and relaxing.

I'm sick again. This time another stomach bug. I just hope no one else in the family gets it. I'm so frustrated. I'm normally not the type to get sick this often. A friend at church recently told me about a mutual friend that has brain cancer right now. She had a tumor removed two months ago but started suffereing from heachaches again and was going back in for surgery. She is a mom with two kids going through a divorce. I used to see her at the gym regularly. Hearing of her illness made me stop and appreciate life. We never know how long we have or our loved ones. How many people could be walking around with similar illnesses going on in their bodies and not even know? How grateful I am for life and for a healthy body.

Life

I'm a horrible, horrible blogger. It's not like there aren't things to blog about. I think it's partly due to the weather though. When it's rainy and we are inside 99% of the time I have no motivation to take pictures and I don't like posts without pictures.

Like many of you we spent the better part of January covered in rain. Yes I know we need rain, but sometimes people with kids need a break. I resumed working out at the gym and thanks to my strep throat kicked off the new year dropping the xmas weight I had gained and I'm off to a good start.

Ammon started basketball and is loving and excelling at it. He scores at least two baskets a game now. Rylee started a preschool program three mornings a week, the same days and times and Cohen, and so it is just Tate and I. I'm loving my free time. I either workout, run errands or clean the house. I can actually go on field trips or to class parties now! I felt slightly guilty putting Rylee in a program at 2 1/2 but it's good for both of us. I've never met or seen a child quite like her. She can give anyone a run for their money.

I just registered Cohen for Kindergarten today. It makes me sad that he will be in school full days. I LOVE four year olds. So much fun.

Jody and I have been slightly addicted to Mario Kart lately. We play a few rounds every night and I'm finally starting to beat him. Ammon is pretty good at it too.

My mom came for a visit last week. From Wednesday to Saturday we couponed together, went to When in Rome (don't waste your money, wait until it's out on rental), to the mall, Target and just hung out together. My kids were so excited that my dad came Friday. I love having someone to hang out with during the day.

On Sunday we had the Unga's and Jay's over for the Superbowl (wish I'd taken pictures). Good food and fun conversation.

Valentine's Day should be low key. We are going out Saturday night. Just dinner and a movie. On Sunday I plan on cooking a nice meal for Jody and letting the kids help me. I'm thinking about heart attacking their rooms and I always make them pink pancakes.

Crossing my fingers for sunshine!

Cohen

He's four and a half. Somehow, being the second of four, he sometimes gets lost in the mix of things. Not that we don't give him lots of love and attention but the cute, funny, smart things he does don't always get recorded. It's time he had a post of his own.

This year he is in Creative Thinker's. It's a Pre-K program that Ammon was in and seeing the difference between their two personalities is fun. Cohen catches on to things a bit quicker and is more interested in academics. He loves to write his letters all over everything. Every time he writes his name he writes Ammon's as well. When Ammon is doing his homework Cohen always wants to do his "homework" too.

I don't know of a single time that Ammon got in trouble in school or church EVER. Well Cohen has already been in trouble at both places, and multiple times. Though he is quick to temper he is also very sweet and loving. Not to mention selfless. He shares everything and if one of his friends wants a toy of his he is more than happy to let them take it home. At Christmas time he told his grandpa that he could have one of his toys because Santa only brings toys to kids.

We have often joked that Cohen is a little OCD about things. For instance until just this last month he refused to wear socks. He hated the way the lines felt. Remember how he used to only wear "little pants" ? Well things have changed to the extreme. Now Cohen wears jeans every day and he has a red Hurley hoodie that he wouldn't take off for two weeks. I finally got it washed and then he put it right back on. One night last week he even went to bed with jeans, SHOES and his hoodie on! He is hilarious. My kids also get obsessed with movies. For the last week they have watched Old Yeller over and over. Cohen loves the song Old Yeller. I've heard him singing, "Here Yeller, Come back Yeller. Best da gone dog in the West" all over the house.

Cohen is obsessed with Tate. Of the three kids he gives Tate the most attention. Always talking to him and "playing" with him. It's adorable, except when he tries to carry him around.

He loves to play catch with Jody in the house. They throw the football back and forth all the time.

When Cohen talks about people he calls them humans. For example, "Mom are there going to be any other humans at the park today?" It's hilarious. But he is so serious when he says it.

He loves to start sentences with "Actually" and "Where in the World?" Like, "Where in the world did my bike go?"

Today he was watching a cooking show and I asked him why he was watching it. He said, "So I can know how to cook when I grow up."

The other day he said, "Mom how far is Heaven? Is it four P's away?" (I had no idea what four P's away meant but he said that they say that on Old Yeller) Then he said, "Some people don't like it up in heaven." When I asked why he said," Because they have to sit around all the time and wait."

One day we were listening to Mary had a Little Lamb in the car and he said, "Mom is Mary still walking? When I asked Mary who? He said, "Mary. Is she still walking to Bethlehem?"

He is such a funny and very perceptive boy. He thinks he knows everything and often tells me I'm driving the wrong way (though I never am). We love him so very much. I can't believe he will start Kindergarten next year. I will miss him. Most of the time he is such an easy, fun, happy little guy.

Oh How I Love Thee

Let me count the ways....

Your big blue eyes

Your smile, even in the middle of the night, I love it.

The sweet giggle you have when you are being tickled.

How easy going you are.

The way you sleep at night.

How you stick your whole fist in your mouth and practically gag yourself every time.

You only have eyes for me.

The way you kick your feet and squeal when I'm getting to ready to nurse you.

How you just lay down and fall asleep when you are tired.

I could go on and on.

I could kiss your little cheeks all day long. You have just started rolling over and every time I lay you down for bed you quickly roll to your tummy. It makes me a bit nervous but if I roll you to your back you just roll again. What's a mommy to do? You love to be in the carseat and spend half the day in it. Your siblings are crazy over you. Rylee is your second mommy. You are still on the tall side in height and average in weight with a slightly bigger head. You take 3 or 4 naps a day and go to bed by 8. Sometimes you sleep 8 or 9 hours. But even when you do, I don't because I'm up waiting for you. It's weird but I actually don't mind nursing you at night. It only takes ten minutes and I love how sleepy and cuddly you are. You have your own smell, it's so good. I already miss you being 4 months old. I wish I could freeze you. I love you so very much. Please just slow the growing down. Just a little.

This last trip to Atlanta was probably my favorite one. I really appreciated being able to relax. Not worrying about cleaning my house, cooking, or driving kids around. But just truly enjoying the moments. We were able stay for almost two weeks and I enjoyed every minute there.

One afternoon we drove to Atlanta to go to The Varsity. I've heard about it for eight years and we finally made a trip to it! Cindy and Larry used to go when they were young and it was fun to hear their stories. It was what Cindy calls a "greasy spoon" but it was fun and and the food was pretty good.

Most of the family came New Year's Eve. Jody's brother Jeff smoked some amazing ribs. It makes me hungry just thinking about them. Then we really just hung out the rest of the evening.


My kids get lots and lots of attention because they are the youngest kids. They love to wrestle and be silly with their grandad and then make arts and crafts or read books with their grandmom. It is always especially hard for Ammon to leave. He cried at the airport because he didn't want to go. I always have a great time with Cindy, such a wonderful mother in law.

We hope to see you all soon. Come to California!

From Knoxville to Gainsville

We arrived in Georgia on a Saturday night. The kids did great on the plane. We had a direct flight. Love direct flights. Sunday all of Jody's siblings came for dinner. I love his family. I feel like they are my family. I guess after eight years they really are. But I just feel comfortable with all of them and love spending time with them.

Because my grandparents live in Knoxville, which is only three hours away, we decided to drive up Monday evening and spend a few days with them. Jody's parents drove with us and stayed in a hotel. When we got to Knoxville my Grandma had a delicious meal ready for us. I love spending time with my Grandparents. They are such amazing people and I have so many wonderful memories with them. My Grandma and I got to spend a lot of time together and we even stayed up until one in the morning both nights talking. She told Jody and I such wonderful stories about her childhood and earlier years. My boys loved playing with Grandpa Chuck. My Grandpa loves to tease the kids and my boys were giving it right back to him. At one point they talked him into giving them a ride on his lawnmower. Rylee loved my Grandma and kept getting her to go outside and play with her. My kids are so lucky to have these memories with their Great-Grandparents.

Leaving their house is always difficult. But they had to be somewhere early the morning we were leaving and left before us. I cried just leaving their house. They just mean so much to me.

On our way home we tried to take a shortcut from Knoxville to Gainesville where Jody's Grandmother lives. Somehow we missed a turnoff and went a little out of the way but I enjoyed the drive through the mountains.

When we got to her home Jody's Grandmother had lunch ready for us and then the kids played while she held Tate and we caught up. She is such a wonderful woman and I wish we could have spent more time with her. Jody was able to drive back to her house before we left and loved being able to spend some quality alone time with her.

Christmas!

Christmas was simple, quiet and perfect this year. It was our first Christmas waking up in our own place and I loved it. My parents came down and spent both days with us. My mom and I went simple with the dinner. We made a Prime Rib, twiced baked potatoes, a salad, and bread. It was delicious and so easy. After dinner Jody put together a Nativity with the kids. Ammon was Joseph, Rylee was Mary and Cohen was an Angel. We sang songs while he read from Luke in the Bible and the kids acted out their parts. After the nativity the boys wrestled with my dad and then they were quickly off to bed. I love Christmas Eve. The easiest day of the year to get your kids to go to bed! We spent a lot of time tracking where Santa was on the internet. I ended up staying up until midnight until he was in San Francisco. Yes, I know he isn't real. But it was fun!

The kids woke up around 6:30. Ammon was thrilled to get the Nintendo DSI he had been asking to get from Santa. I've never seen him more proud of an object. He pulls it out in front of people just to get a reaction and he tells everyone about it. Cohen got a CD player and Rylee got a kitchen. These were the gifts Santa brought the kids. They each got a lot more. Rylee was happy with a couple of presents. She actually didn't end up finishing opening the ones she got. The boys thought they were done opening when I realized they'd forgotten to look in their stockings. Surprise more toys and candy. They especially loved their rubberband guns.

My dad made breakfast and then we spent the morning playing with toys. My parents left in the early afternoon to get back home in time to spend the weekend with my brother Chris and his kids.

We were leaving for Georgia the next day so before the day was through the tree and decorations were down. It was such a nice relaxing day. We packed that night and flew out the next day for almost two wonderful weeks in Georgia.

Cute little Tate got a couple of toys that he won't be playing with for a few months. He is such a sweet boy.

Santa

My friend Amber had Santa stop by her house a few days before Christmas. I think the kids were a little surprised. Ammon told Santa he wanted a Nintendo DS. Cohen wanted a helicopter and Rylee wanted NOTHING to do with Santa. Maybe next year!

It seemed like our days were completely filled all the way up until Christmas. One Saturday we took the kids to see Santa flown in from a helicopter at the air museum. The boys thought it was pretty cool.

Temple Lights

Before Christmas we took the kids to see the Oakland Temple Christmas lights with our good friends, the Hartman's. We are going to make this a yearly tradition. The kids loved running around the temple, going to the visitors center, and walking around the top of the temple. We even bummed some Krispy Kreme donuts off of some people. It was such a fun night.

New Do.

It's been a long time coming. Rylee finally got her hair chopped and the only thing I can say is why didn't I do it sooner? She looks adorable. It's the perfect cut for a girl who won't leave anything in her hair for longer than five minutes. My sister in law Lori cut it the night before we left Georgia to come back home. After she cut it Rylee wouldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror saying, "cute hair" over and over. She loved it too!

We've been home for almost a week now and it's taken me a while to get life back to normal. I came home with strep throat. Woke up with it the day we flew home. It totally wiped me out for a few days. I've got plenty to blog. Christmas, Georgia to name a few.

MIA

Yes my last post was about Thanksgiving and now we are past New Year's! I'm a pathetic blogger these days. We have been in Georgia for the last 10 days visiting family, relaxing and enjoying a nice break. Lucky for us my grandparents live three hours away. We were able to visit them last week. My parents got me a Flip video camera for Christmas and I'm LOVING it! I'll post pictures when we get home! Enjoy the video with my sweet Grandma.

T-day

Our Pilgrim!

The kids LOVE to get into Grandma's pantry. Especially now that it is stocked with all of her coupon deals.

This is not a very great picture of any of us. Plus one is missing, Kas.

The love of my life! Seriously can't get enough of him.

After dinner we played some soccer. I was so out of shape. But it was a lot of fun. I hope we make it a tradition.

This picture makes me hungry. Thanksgiving is my favorite meal.

The guys went fishing one day and caught thirty pound salmon! I wish I could have gone. We enjoyed eating fresh fish. Since the guys were gone we got a babysitter and went to lunch at the creperie with Kalie. Later that night we met our friends for dinner and Three Foods.

Jody took the boys to see the elk at Prairie Creek. Ammon is still slightly obsessed with deer and hunting.

We spent some time at the beautiful Redwood Park. A trip there is only complete if hippie's are smoking pot by a big tree in the back. Sure enough they were there and yes of course smoking.

I'm so irritated with myself for taking this long to post about Lindsey's visit and Thanksgiving. I hate it when I procrastinate because I've lost more of my memory after each kid and I forget those fun details. The details that actually make a post fun to read. But oh well I did my best! a