Easter April 8, 2012

Easter is such a wonderful time to remember our Savior and the sacrifice he made for us. I enjoyed a testimony today from a man I really respect. As he was pondering Easter on the way to church he said that because of the gospel we don't just think about this once a year. This is part of our daily lives. We constantly remember this sacrifice because it reminds us that we can be forgiven and to keep trying to do what is right. How wonderful that we have this blessing in our lives. I never realized how lucky I was to grow up with this knowledge. I am grateful my parents took us to church every week and made us realize what is important. I know that I am eternally blessed because of this gospel. I could not imagine my life without it. I enjoyed spending time with my family this weekend. We went to visit with my Mom for lunch yesterday. The Easter bunny had already dropped off baskets for the boys there. Star Wars coloring books and new Star Wars toothbrushes that looked like lightsabers. How did the Easter bunny know??? I always enjoy catching up with my Mom. I wish I got to see her more often but her work schedule is always keeping her busy (and tired.) We spent a lot of time at my Dad and Debby's house. They (and Michelle) even offered to babysit the boys last night so Chad and I could go to the movies. (Thanks again:) After church the boys got to search for eggs that Debby put together and hid for them. She also hid 2 chocolate bunnies. That was a surprise. This is the 2nd year they have done an Easter egg hunt and they look forward to it all year. This might have to be a tradition. They have enough candy to last them through June. Then we ate a delicious dinner and an Easter bunny cake that Debby made. It was so cute. We had a great Easter and can't wait to see them in a couple weeks for Nicholas' birthday party:)

Fixing the Falcon with Papa Rick April 7, 2012

We went to visit my family this weekend for Easter. I haven't seen them since the holidays so we were really looking forward to it. The boys love their grandparents. My Dad has been slowly fixing a car that his grandmother used to own. I don't know much about it except that it is a Falcon and my whole childhood I remember it being in our yard/driveway etc. Papa Rick decided to take the boys out to the garage so they could help. The boys got to remove one of the tires and help with various other simple things. I hope this is one of those memories they will remember forever. I feel very blessed that our parents take such an active role in my kids lives. I have lots of memories of visiting my grandparents when I was younger and now that my grandfather is no longer here I wish I could remember more about him. Hopefully my kids will know their grandparents really well and have lots of fun memories in the future that include them.

Jake the Easter Bunny!! April 5, 2012

The Easter bunny came to Jake's preschool today. He left Easter baskets for all the kids. They all made pink bunny ears to wear. He is so cute:)

Boys bike riding April 2, 2012

Since the weather has been so nice (a little chilly but overall nice) the boys have been begging to go for bike rides. They both got bikes for their birthdays last year. Nicholas used training wheels all last year but we decided this year it was time to learn how to ride without them. We have a basketball court right down the road with even asphalt for him to practice. He was initially not happy with us for taking the wheels off but when he learned how to balance it and could see that he can ride faster without them, he now loves it. I took them to the court on Monday to get some energy out. They both had a great time. We just need to get Chad a bike and then the 4 of us can go for bikes rides together this summer.

Chad's Birthday April 1, 2012

Happy Birthday Chad!!! We celebrated Chads birthday on Sunday with his family and close friends. It was General Conference weekend which only made it better. We watched the first session at home. We had the party afterwards and then as a family we watched the 2nd session together. It was a great day. Chad got a few things. He needed a new wallet badly! His wallet is over 10 years old and had 1 thread holding it together. We also got him a new white shirt for church. It was so great seeing family and friends for the day. Chad's best friend James came as well. James is 15 days older than Chad. They have been friends since the beginning of time (their time anyway:) Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures except when he was blowing out the candles. Oh well. Happy Birthday. We love you!!

The start of something new. March 26, 2012

Today Chad started his new job. He interviewed a few weeks ago and got a callback the following morning. We are so excited. Engineering is the career he chose a LOOOONNNNGGGGG time ago. Today he finally starts his career. So far, he loves it. He got to come home for lunch (because he only works 10 minutes away:) and told me all about his morning and the exciting things he is going to be doing. It is all very exciting and nerve wracking. He has A LOT of training to complete. It will take about 10 months. I didn't get a picture of him before he left for work because it was so early. I will try to get one when he has his hard hat and steel toe boots. Then it will be more official. We have had a busy few weeks. Chad spent all last week installing a fence with his brother. Long days but at least it was gorgeous outside. I think it hit 83 degrees. Nicholas had a field trip last week. He went to the State museum in Albany. He loved it. I wished I could have chaperoned but it didn't happen. Jake had a pool party last week. They did this at the preschool last year with Nicholas. They fill up little pools in the classroom and the kids have a blast. They were even debating about doing it outside since the weather was so nice but they opted to do it inside. He didn't want to go in at first but as soon as I left the teacher said he got in and had so much fun. We are getting ready for Chad's birthday (April 1st) and Nicholas' birthday (April 17th) and I will definitely post updates then. The boys have been having fun outside enjoying this spring (almost summer) weather. I wish it would stay but unfortunately it is still March. I shouldn't be surprised that it has been so cold today but I am:( Oh well Spring will be here soon enough. We went to visit my sister Cathy on Saturday and the boys had so much fun playing with her dog Medved. It is fun visiting with her and we need to take advantage of it while she still lives close by.

Where has the time gone???

So last June I finally got all of our pictures organized onto our desktop. Then our camera dies. It would no longer charge and was useless. We went out and bought a new one and I very much dislike it. It is the same camera just the newer version BUT when loading pictures on our computer, it has to use a certain program (that I had to download) and it is quite difficult and time consuming. This is the reason I haven't posted in all these months. My camera. I know......its lame. I guess I should update quickly and try to post some pics. July was Jake's 3rd birthday. It was a lot of fun. We did a Mickey Mouse theme. The cake was my first one using fondant. I didn't love it but it was easy to work with and for this cake it did help a lot. I really need to combine photos of all the cakes I've made in an album. August, Chad and I got to go to the temple with my sister and brother in law so they could be sealed. It was a very special day. September my boys started school. Nicholas was so excited about kindergarten and he still loves it. His teacher is very sweet and he is doing really well. Jake also started preschool. He was very shy at first but he is enjoying it more now. Jake also had his tonsils and adenoids removed at the end of September. Jake has had issues since he was born with breathing, snoring and ear infections. He also would throw up every single day. If he got worked up, overtired or ate to quickly he would throw up. When we finally had x rays done his adenoids were HUGE!!! The Dr was really surprised he had gone this long. Since the surgery, he hasn't thrown up once. He sleeps more deeply at night and his speech is improving. He still gets ear infections though:( October Chad and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary. We weren't able to do anything but still a milestone. November was my birthday and Thanksgiving. A very fast month but not faster than December. The holidays always go too quickly. Thanksgiving we went to my Dad's house. Then in December Chad finished his Engineering degree!!!!! It was a very happy day. He worked so hard last year to get that done. We celebrated Christmas at our house with Dad and Debby and Michelle. The boys got so spoiled. New years we spent at Dave and Chrissy's house with Eric and Rachael. Chad's sister Dana and her family came as well. January was a rough month. I literally had a headache the entire month. I went to 3 different doctors, was on 2 different antibiotics, a muscle relaxer and had a CT scan and an ultrasound of my thyroid. The results were nothing. We think it was a sinus infection. It did go away finally within the first few days of February. Chad is back at school taking an Auto Cadd course. He really enjoys it. He is also tutoring one night a week at the college. February, Michelle took us on vacation to Florida. It was a lot of fun. We went to Disney for 3 days. We went all the way to Key West. The boys had a lot of fun swimming and we all came back with nice tans. Now its March and we are getting back into our routines. Chad has been doing a lot of construction work with his brother Eric. The mild winter we have been having has certainly helped them get more jobs that would have otherwise had to wait until spring/summer time. Jake has an appointment in April to have his hearing checked. Since he is still getting frequent ear infections and ALWAYS has fluid in his ears they are going to check and see if he needs tubes put in. It will hopefully improve his hearing and he is beginning speech therapy soon which will make a big difference. Nicholas is reading quite well now. He reads everyday for about 20 minutes. It is so nice to see how much he is learning. I have been blessed to be able to volunteer in his classroom every Tuesday. Well that is it for now. I will try to be better. We have birthdays coming up and other special events that I want to record. I've enjoyed reading all your blogs. Thanks for being better than me at keeping them updated:)