My Little Missionary

A couple of days ago I picked Dylan up from school and the two of us headed to the store. As we are walking in the store Dylan says, "Mom, Miss Archibald and some kids in my class don't know who Gordon B. Hinckley is. I told them that he died and they said 'who is that?'"
I explained that unless people are members of our church that they probably wouldn't know who he was. He thought a little about that and then told me that he wants to tell them about our church and that they should come to church with us sometime.
I thought that was so incredible that at 7 years old my little boy is thinking like a missionary. It goes to show that anyone can be used as a messenger for the Lord. What an example Dylan was to me that day.

I've been Tagged!

I have been tagged by my friend Abbey, so bear with me while I try to be clever;)

Things you may or may not know about me

1. I was a bell ringer. What is that you ask? Well, I rang a little bell, like the ones you see people use to summon a butler, in a bell choir. I think I was in 9th grade. And let me tell you, I was not very good. I knew my one note and that is all. Keep in mind that everyone else had at least 2 or 3 bells they rang, but poor Nicole only had one. I only did it because a friend of mine was doing it and I had to go to her house after school, and on Mondays and Wednesdays she had bell choir. So I could either sit there bored or join in. Not my best talent, but I gave it a try.

2. I love the smell of playdoh. I will sit and just sniff a can when my kids are playing with it. I get some strange looks from my kids, but don't deny it...you love the smell of playdoh too!! Oh and scotch tape. Love the smell of scotch tape.

3. Ok, so this is embarrasing, but here we go....I played dolls (i.e. cabbage patch dolls) until I was 13 years old. Luckily I had a friend the same age as me who loved to do this as well. We would get together after school and play dolls down in my basement....our little secret. Our pretend play did evolve since we were so old, so we were doctors and they were our patients. My friend's mom was nurse so we had tons of cool supplies. I think my mom had to tell me that I needed to stop. Nice. I still get excited though when Cierra gets a new doll, and I think Cabbage Patch Dolls are the cutest thing ever.

4. I have a really bad habit of stock piling the following things: ***shampoo and conditioner-I like to have a variety in the shower. There are bottle and bottles my shower. I like to use a different one each day. I probably never run out of any of them, I just buy more. *** Lipgloss- I love the stuff. You will find a variety of lipglosses in my purse, in my car console, in my bathroom, in drawers. The sad thing is they are all basically the same color. ***Canned goods- the pantry shelf is bowing badly because I don't take the time to see what canned goods I have before I go grocery shopping. I just assume I have used it and buy more, then when I come home, there are 2 or 3 cans of what I just bought.
***Lotion- I am an avid lotion buyer. Don't get me wrong, I wear it too, but I love to buy the newest, bestest lotion. I have tons and tons. They range from dry skin healing to shimmery to give you a nice glow to give you a fake tan. What is the saying? Waste not, want not? Need to work on that one.

5. I am almost 30 years old. In May of this year I will hit the big 3-0. I am terrified. I can't believe it one bit. I still feel 21. Time flies!

So basically I can't think of anything else. So, I tag Erin, Sunny, Rocky, Heather and Kathy and Kristen.

My Little Rock Band

Jonah practicing.

I don't really know what to say about this. Jonah looks stoned and Dylan looks posessed.

Can we say album cover?

Dylan has been back at playing Guitar Hero. He rediscovered it at Christmas. His Uncle Evan is "Awesome at expert". Dylan, I must say, can rock pretty well. He can play it on the hard level. I can barely pass the medium. When he gets playing his little tongue pops out of his mouth and moves all around. It is really funny to watch his face and amazing to watch his little hands move on the guitar.

Jonah has started getting interested too. He is on the practice mode right now. The guitar still seems a little big and awkward for him to hold.

Cierra mostly dances to the music but she is also practicing.

Breakfast Banter

This morning as the kids were eating breakfast and I was straightening up the kitchen, Cierra asks me, "Is cleaning the kitchen fun?" " Sometimes. Why, does it look fun?" I asked. She said that it did and I told her that it was a good thing she thought so because one day she will be a mommy and have her own kitchen to clean. She then said, " No I won't because I am going to stay with you forever." Dylan chimed in, "Me too!" Then in between bites of cereal, Jonah declares, "I'm not, I am going to have my own place!" Break my heart.
Just kidding, but really Cierra quite often tells me that she is going to stay with me forever. How I wish that were true. I wish I could have them sign a paper saying this. Maybe I should.
Also last night when we were tucking the kids in bed, Cierra puts her little arms around my neck, looks deep into my eyes and says, "Mommy, I will never lose your heart." It brought tears to my eyes. She has such a tender little heart. I love her innocence. The way she words her emotions are priceless. It amazes me every day the people that they are turning into and the way that they feel and think. I love being their mom.

Are they like this at home?

At home...oh so happy.

Not at home...and this pretty much sums up their experience on the trip.

Back at home....oh so happy again.

How many times did I hear this about the babies on our trip? No they aren't always so dang ornery...well maybe Tyler is. They obviously aren't very adaptable children yet. They are like their mother and enjoy being in familiar surroundings.

The proof is in the pictures...look at the dates...and no I didn't change the date this time.

Josh and Zach

Josh, Skyler, Zach and Devon

The babies wouldn't keep still.

Zach (or should I say Spiderman)

Lots of boys

Zach showing some love to Landon.

Reunited (and it feels so good)

Jonah and Lauren

Cierra and Katelyn

Cierra and Aubrie

Katelyn

Dylan, Ethan and Lauren

The kids got to see their cousins...finally. It had been almost 2 years since they have seen them. Dylan and Ethan picked up right where they left off. It was so fun to see them have fun together. I hope one day we live close enough so they see each other all of the time.

I see snow!!

Nice snowball Aubrie!

Jonah, Aubs and Cierra

All bundled up!

Playing with cousin Lauren the first night we were there.

This is my children's first real experience with snow. They had so much fun playing in it with their cousins.

Thank you Aubs for taking Cierra and Jonah out for a frolick. You are the best!

There is no place like home!

So we survived our trip to Utah/Idaho. 4500 miles later we are safe at home. Temperatures dipped down to the teens while we were there. I found myself longing for Texas weather. You definitely don't know what you got until it is gone.
Our straight through drive (which ended up being more like 26 hours) started a little bumpy. The babies were screaming. Not a pleasant sound. I called my sister to see if I would kill them if I gave them Children's Nyquil. She said probably not. We stopped and I got some. I gave them a little and it seemed to help. Back on the road, I was driving this time. If you have ever ridden with me you know that I am a lead foot mama....so I probably shouldn't have been surprised to see the flashing lights in my rear view mirror. I was going 79 in a 65. Nice. Great. We should just turn around and go home. The officer was kind enough to just cite me for not wearing my glasses while driving...I guess I have a class A restriction. Merry Christmas to me.
Well, back on the road...I am fuming about the ticket....$160 for not wearing glasses. Ron tells me to forget about it...nothing we can do now. Ain't that the truth. So now he drives because I don't have my glasses (which by the way I never wear...in fact I can't even see anything but up close when I wear them.)
We drive and we drive and we drive and then drive some more. It was the longest trip of my life. I think I complained more than the kids did. Well maybe not Jonah...he kept saying "This is taking forever!" Yeah, it was. So on the way home, we decided to stop halfway. I definitely liked that better.
Anyway, we had a great time in Utah and Idaho. Thanks to all of our family that let us stay in their homes. It was so nice to share Christmas with you.
I don't think we will be making that drive again anytime soon. I think we will wait until the babies are at least 3. They just were miserable the whole time we were there. Pictures will follow.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!! We sure did.