April

Nick was transferred to a different position at work, one that requires him to travel every once in awhile. At the end of March we found out he'd be travelling to Germany for 3 weeks in April. I went through a plethora of emotions and thoughts as the day of his departure got closer. I was scared, excited for him, nervous for us, worried about his safety, worried about our safety, etc. etc. We decided it would really help to have my parents come out and help me and break up such a long period of time. It was so sad to say goodbye to Nick...Josh, once again our detached child, gave dad a quick hug and kiss and went off to play with his cars. Maya and I were both crying and had a very difficult time. I'm so thankful we had Skype and email so that we could keep in contact.


This was the view from Nick's hotel room. That's the Rhine river with a pretty cathedral in the background.

The night my parents came in my neighbor came and stayed at the house with our sleeping kids while I ran to the airport. The next morning I had the kids come downstairs in the guest room while my parents hid under the covers then jumped out and surprised them. It was AWESOME! I'm happy I was able to keep it a secret for so long. Here's their reaction:





Here are some of the things we did with them:

Ate out a lot
Went to an arcade
My dad and I took Maya and Josh to the park and attempted to fly kites, but really we all just got frustrated.
My parents took the older kids to a movie and the dollar store and I stayed home and napped while Cora slept...LOVELY.
My dad fertilized the grass for us because it would be too late to wait until Nick got home. Thanks Papa!
We just had a blast spending time together and it definitely helped me to not stress out as much about having Nick away. I'm so grateful they were able to come here to help me. I love them!

Again, I didn't tell the kids what time Nick would be flying in because I wanted to surprise them. Josh and I were playing cars on the couch when I got a text from Nick on Friday afternoon that he had landed and he was on his way home. So I didn't say anything to Josh and we kept playing until he heard Nick's car pull up into the driveway. His expression was so cute! Maya was still in school so Nick had some special time with Josh and Cora. We were so happy to see him! He brought special treats for all of us...he really liked the chocolate bars and brought home a few stacks of them! After being together all weekend and eating too much chocolate, I put most of the bars in a brown paper bag and sent them to work with him on Monday. After hanging out for awhile we headed over to pick up Maya from school. Of course she was extremely excited to see her dad and could stop smiling and hugging him.


We're glad that Nick was able to experience Germany, but I'm so happy he's home with us. We kinda like him!

Easter

I figured since it's been over a month since my last post I better get on here and write. Also, according to Blogger Stats, this is my 300th post! Yeah! Go me.

Let's see. Easter was quite a few weeks ago. We began celebrating it the week before in Family Home Evening with a special Easter lesson, then dying some Easter eggs. It was nice to go over the details of Christ's Resurrection again and be reminded of what a special event it was. Last year Josh was not interested in the Easter egg part, but this year he was all about it! We had lots of packages coming to our house from relatives and the kids had a great time opening those up. Thanks everyone!
Nick had the day off the Friday before Easter weekend so we took them to the "Marshmallow Drop" our city puts on every year. Basically you go to a big open field and wait as a helicopter flies overhead and drops marshmallows for the kids to gather. They separated the kids into a few different age groups which was nice and helped prevent pushing and shoving but the greed in people never ceases to amaze me. Josh was able to snag two marshmallows when his age group went, but Maya didn't get any and Nick ended up having to ask someone who had several to give one to her. Of course Maya was upset about the whole thing but cheered up when they exchanged their marshmallow for a coloring book and crayons at the end. It was pretty cool! (I can't find my pictures of this event, so you'll just have to trust me that we were there.)
>br/> The next day we went to an Easter egg hunt and played at the park for awhile with some friends. There were a ton of people at that activity as well....next year we will go back to doing our own to avoid the crowds!

Josh's class had a very cute program that they put on a few days before break. They sang songs and made little bunny goody bags. It's interesting to watch J in those types of programs. He never just stands there with his hands down, he is ALWAYS twirling the hair on top of his head, touching his face, or itching some part of his body. This time he decided to make it a little different and kept pulling up his shirt to expose his belly and play with his belly button.

Josh is FOUR!

Our little man turned 4 on Friday, March 8th. I had originally planned to have a little party for him but our sudden trip to Utah ruined that idea. So we had a little play date with some of his friends at Laurel Park Mall since they have a little play area there for kids. We all packed a lunch and then enjoyed some chocolate cupcakes for dessert. It was a fun and easy "party" for our guy. After he opened his gifts he kept whispering to me, "can we just go home now? I want to play with my new toys." I had to tell him it wasn't polite to do that.

Josh loves cars, trains, planes, playing with dad, snuggling with mom, watching shows...he really likes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, chicken nuggets and fries, cuddling Cora, (sometimes) he plays well with Maya, he has a new fondness of coloring and practicing letters, he is asking a MILLION questions per day it seems, he is a great errand-runner with mom and dad, and he is a great kid all-around.

One of the things I love about Josh is that he is quite gentle and isn't rough and wild like most boys. Just recently he started getting into this game we call, "Honey". Basically he'll say, "Mom? Want to play honeys? I'll be your honey and I am the dad of Cora." So the rest of the day it's, "Honey...I have to go to work now to make money there. Can you watch the kid while I'm at work, honey?" Or he'll say, "Honey? Want to sit on the couch and snuggle?" It is just too cute and I can't get enough of him. It's fun to see this side of him. I also love how even from a very young age he took to cars. He will sit and play cars all day if we let him. It's funny to listen to him talk with his cars because they usually aren't making "vrooom vroom" sounds, it's more like he's having conversations between all of them.

We are very excited about how quickly he is picking up on different things. He is a smart little booger! We are just so thankful that this little man joined our family. I just love having so much time with him every day while Maya is away at school. I never grow tired of those big, dark, brown eyes and long eyelashes. He is truly a little treasure!



That night Josh chose "Weo's" (Leo's) for dinner

Happy Birthday Little Man!!!!

Utah Trip

My aunt Carol (my mom's sister) passed away in February. She was such a sweet lady. She never had a chance to have kids or anything but she always treated me and my siblings and all of her GREAT nieces and nephews like they were her own. I'm grateful our family was able to go out to Utah to be there for her memorial services. It was such a beautiful day to remember her and to be reminded of the Plan of Salvation. I know I will see her again and I'm so thankful for that.

Nick stayed with us for a few days then had to get back to work, but before he came home he had his fill of mexican food! We also went and hung out with his mom, brother Michael, and Granny Moe one day. We went to lunch and then headed over to a really cool aquariam in Sandy, UT. The kids did really well on the trip, even little sissy, Cora. Oh man, she was just so cute and sweet! My parents kept saying, "Look at her! She's always smiling! Have you heard her cry at all? I haven't." It was really awesome. We love that little peanut. Glad she did so well.

We didn't do too much while we were there, but it was so nice to just hang out and relax. I had fun catching up with my good friends Caitie and Maren...and of course Maren's cutie born in December, Charlotte. We also had a get together at my mom's house with family and friends. It was so fun seeing everyone.

Playing "restaurant" with grandma and using her tiny dishes.

Cora and her future friend, Charlotte.

This was really funny. My dad and Josh were snuggling on the recliner and the whole chair flipped backwards and they landed on the ground like this. I'm surprised Josh didn't start crying.
We got to see Caleb and Brynnlee (my niece and nephew) one day and had a good time visiting. Brynn is almost taller than me! When we moved away she was only 3....this makes me so sad. By the way, this is all Aunt Carol's jewelry that she had collected over the years. Every one got to take home a few pieces. Now every time I wear something that I picked out I can think of her. Maya LOVED picking a few pieces too.
My pretty mama. I miss her and love her so much.
Me and Caitie. One of my BFF's from growing up.
Me and my girls with Aunt Carrie and Granny Moe
It was absolutely wonderful being home for a week or so. I love it there and hope to move closer soon.