2012 update

How sad is it that I haven't blogged in MONTHS!! We have been crazy busy here and it shows:) Here's the skinny of what we have been up to.

December- Christmas was great. We enjoyed the holidays visiting with friends and family. We had work parties and family parties that kept us entertained for the month of December:)

January- The New Year came and so did new goals and challenges. Matt traveled quite a bit, but we are used to that:)We have been working on adjusting to Matt traveling alot and me working 5 days a week. We had a fairly mild winter which I will take anytime.

February- Life is still crazy. Parker is in the school play and he is so busy with play practice. Taylor is taking piano lessons and amazes us how quick she picks it up. Oakley is really progressing in her reading which is a sigh of relief for me. I continue to be crazy busy at work. Matt is still in and out of town.

March- Matt is out of town again:) Are you noticing a pattern? Good thing he loves his job. The weather is teasing us and we could not be more excited for spring to come. Parker is coming home from Houston tonight. He has been there over a long weekend visiting Matt. That kid flys way more that me! No fair!!!

I have learned alot about myself and my little family over the past few months. My kids rock. I have been so amazed at how independent they are. They have at times had to make their own breakfast or be self starters until I can get home from work when Matt is out of town. I really appreciate all they do without complaining.

Matt is going to be having surgery on his eye next week. He had Bells Palsy about 7 years ago and his eye has not been the same since. He is glad to finally get it fixed. He is a great provider for us and often only does things for us and not himself. I am glad he can do something for himself for once that is important to him.

Parker is amazing. He really is such an easy kid that I just love so much. He really makes my happy to be his mom and I am always proud of the man he is becoming.He is looking forward to playing football this year!

Taylor amazes me with her sense of style. My goodness that girl is cute!! Lots of things also come so easy to her. She gives me a run for my money on many days but when it comes down to it, I sure love her.

Oakley is my little love bug. She melts me with her tiny voice but spitfire personality.

I sure love my kids. My job keeps me happy/crazy/busy and I love every minute of it. It has been an adjustment for our family to figure out how to make things work with a working mom, but I think we are getting it. It was always important for me to be at home with my kids until they got into school. So having that completed it has been so nice for me to find my place again in this world.

Prayers

I am asking for prayers from all of my friends. A friend of ours was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She had a double mastectomy and now found out that it has spread to her liver and lungs. Please pray for Charese.

Also my mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's this week. She has had a horrible year and this diagnosis has brought on so much stress for her and my dad. Please keep them in your prayers too.

Pan Am

My son thinks he is a world traveler. At least domestically right now:) Parker flew out with my dad to St.Louis to visit my brother and his family. My SIL Rachel was so great to take Parker around and show him the sights. Parker had such a great time and didn't want to come back:) He really loved all the time he got to spend with his cousin Annalyn. Luckily school is in his life still so he had to make it back for class. He got a good taste of what its like to travel standby over UEA weekend. He went to Dallas, St. Louis, Dallas, Chicago, and finally made it to SLC in a first class seat! Lucky kid!

I can do hard things

Here is goes. Day 1 of my kick-off to a healthier, happier, well balanced me. Thanks Paige for telling me about it:)

What is it you ask?
Here is what you need to accomplish each day for 8 weeks.

1. Exercise 45 mins a day.
2. Drink 8 glasses of water.
3. Eat 2 servings each of fruits and vegetables.
4. Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.
5. No sugars/white flour.
6. No soda, fast food, or junk food.
7. No eating after 8.
8. Write in your journal every day.(blogging:)
9. 15 mins of uplifting reading or scripture study.
10. Complete an act of service or random act of kindness.

Why do I love the challenge even though it goes through Halloween, Thanksgiving, and ends right before Christmas? Because it will make me a better person inside and out. And I get one free day a week:)

Check it out if you would like to at 8weekstoabetteryou.blogspot.com

What really matters.

My friend Emily posted this video and it really had an effect on me today. I often get caught up in being too busy. I work, do homework, clean the house, cook, do laundry, run the kids around, shop....the list goes on and on. How many times do I slow down and just enjoy the moment? How often do I look around at my surrounding and enjoy everything around me? No matter what your beliefs are, we all can believe in taking the time to make memories. Little snapshots that we will never want to forget. I know I want that with my family. I never want to forget what I have been blessed with.

Boy/Girl Party. I am too young for that!!

Parker is in 6th grade this year and turned 11 last Friday. Say what??
When did my little home skillet grow up to be old enough to have a boy/girl party?
Just plain crazy sauce I tell you. Parker had his close peeps over for a movie night. Hot dogs were on the menu straight from the fire pit. It was pretty funny to watch all the kids interact. They boys talked alot more to the girls than I remember boys doing when I was his age. His "girlfriend" Katie was there and is so cute! Cracks me up to even type that he has one:) We brought out a mattress that we were getting rid of, set up some chairs, and watched a movie under the stars. We served popcorn buckets with a box of candy. They seemed to have a really great time. Matt and I enjoyed every minute getting to watch Parker that night. He really is such a great kid. He works hard at school. He is so responsible. He rarely ever complains about anything. I really have enjoyed watching him grow up:)

It's back to school time!!!

How sad is it that my last post was about the end of the year!?! I fail at writing on my blog:)

We have had a great summer! We stayed up in Logan with Matt for a few days(we missed you Jenny and family),we had season passes to Classic Fun Center where we spent many days. We went to Cowabunga Bay, Boondocks, and played with friends. I started a new job at American Airlines. This summer has just flown by with lots of fun and exciting things happening!

Oakley is now in 2nd grade. She has one of Taylor's previous teachers and she is excited to have her friend Maddy in her class again. She is still not a morning person and struggled to get up this morning, but I think in a few weeks she will be able to get up easier. (Let's hope and pray!!!!)

Taylor is in 4th grade. She has a great teacher this year also. She doesn't have her two closest friends in her class with her this year so it will be interesting to watch her make new friends in her class. She was our most excited child about school starting! She could not wait!! I think it's because she is excited to see all the boys in her grade:) Yes, she is SO into boys!! We even had the conversation about shaving legs. I had to tell her she has a few years before that nightmare will start!

Parker, Parker, Parker. What to say about my 6th grader? He is my easiest child. He just plays everything cool. He has a teacher who is young and pretty which Matt and I found very funny since Parker picked her as his teacher this year. He has 3 out of 4 of his closest friends in his class. He said he hopes this year his teacher won't get irritated at him for being quiet like his last teacher did:) It's in the genes! And we all know not mine!!

I have loved the summer with my kids, buy I am glad they are now back in school. I love seeing them learn new things.