Our Family 2015

My dear friend Carly took family pictures for us yet again. Carly always has the little boys laughing the whole time she's snapping pictures, which makes darling photos that really capture their personalities. I love the way these pictures turned out!

I am so glad that we documented our family during this period of time. Ben and I agreed the other night, of all the stages of life and marriage we've been through so far, this one has been our favorite. The boys are at such fun ages. We are finally settled in one place. We love our new home. Ben mostly likes his job. I mostly love my job. The kids are starting to really play together and get along more and more. Our life is far from perfect, but it is pretty sweet. 

 

Out of the Mouth of Chase

When setting the table he narrates like he's overseeing a rocket launch: Napkin #1 is in position. Sheeeeeeew- Napkin #2 is now in position...

Me: Chase, what is your favorite dessert?
Chase: Chocolate.
Me: Like chocolate chips? Or chocolate cake? What kind of chocolate thing?
Chase: Anything chocolate. All of it.

Remember when we went to Tahoe and I got to eat those tiny, fruity donuts? (He meant lifesavers)

One Friday Ben came downstairs for breakfast in a T-shirt and shorts (they have casual friday's at work). Chase took one look at him and said, "Dad, are you sure you don't want to change before work?"

Chase: Aunt Heidi, can I skip my nap today?
Heidi: We have to ask your mom.
Chase: Actually Aunt Heid, my dad is home today so he's in charge.

They got new clothes from Nana for fall and Chase and Hudson were both wearing theirs for the first time on the same day we were going to babysit Nora.
Chase: Hey Mom, can you call aunt Kate and see if Nora can wear her new clothes too?
Me: Sure, in a minute bud, I'm kind of busy right now.
5 minutes pass
Chase: Hey mom? How are we coming on that text?

During Sunday dinner:
Aunt Heidi, can I tell you something? At my three year old birthday party I went to pee and when I came back all my ice cream had melted!!!!!
(And then we all died laughing. About the statement. And the fact that this is the first time he's brought this up when this apparently happened almost two years ago.)

Chase was recounting his beloved fish, Eater, may he rest in peace:
Chase: Hey Heidi do you know what it means to be heart broken?
Heidi: What does it mean Chase.
Chase: It means you just cry and cry until your mom offers you a cookie to feel better.

Mid-September

September is one of my favorite times of the year! The air is getting crisp, the new school year is exciting, and the anticipation of fun holidays is coming! The boys are both planning out their Halloween costumes already!

We had a fun day a few weeks ago- my old roommate Katherine was in town! So she brought her cute kids up to play and it was a blast! Almost like no time had passed and we were still 18 year old roommates, except there were four small children running around! The boys loved playing with darling Mia and admiring her cute baby boy (although a little too close at times).

 Ben and I renewed our goal to keep dating and went on a fun date hiking up Baer Canyon! I love that place. I hiked it all the time in high school and it is so beautiful. I was pleasantly surprised that my exercise routine is definitely doing something for me- hiking up the canyon was a breeze for me. Pushing those two kids in the double stroller up Mutton Hollow is definitely good training.

 One of my boys favorite part of fall is the farming. It's no secret that they love playing at a farm with their Papa. He helps his farmer friends during harvest time and they are nice to let the little boys come play as well. Chase immediately told me that he wanted to sit in the chopper again this year (my dad usually drives the big dump truck that catches the stuff coming out of the actual chopper) because he got to last year. I explained that someone different was going to be driving it this year and we'd have to ask. Butch was happy to let Chase sit on his lap in the chopper and my dad and I laughed watching Chase's little mouth moving a mile a minute- talking Butch's ear off the whole time! Hudson road on my lap in the truck and was happy to do so. Hudson also loves seeing the cows at the dairy. We always stop to see the babies, which Hudson loves. Chase could care less. He only has eyes for tractors.

And then Aunt Heidi came into town! The boys were so excited to see her, and even more excited for their much anticipated special date with her. Chase quickly chose going to a movie, so she took him to see Minions. She said he laughed hysterically the whole time and really really enjoyed that she lets him pick whatever snacks he wants from the concession stand (it was butterfingers and popcorn this time). Hudson wanted to go to ice cream with her- specifically at Arctic Circle. 

We headed back to the Discovery Gateway again and had a great time as always. I love being in a place where my kids can play so creatively, with stuff we just don't have at home. Hudson "cooked" for a long time this day (and then mailed the pizza) and Chase played in the water for a good long time. They had a blast and came home happy and exhausted. 

Chaser Starts Preschool!

The Chaser started preschool this last week! He was so psyched and I know it will be a wonderful experience for him. He's going to Forever Young preschool, which is run by a woman we know well, Jennifer Young. She is in my parents ward and is one of the kindest people you'll ever meet. She's also firm and runs and good, structured program, which I think is the best of both worlds for Chase. Two kids in our new ward were already signed up to be in his same class, which worked out so nicely! 

 And Hudson is (so far) loving having a little time of mom all to himself! This last week I tried to just spend quality time with him the whole time. We made cookies, did puzzles, read stories and played together and he soaked it all up!

With the starting of a new school year, I realized I never posted about our family theme scripture for the year. We actually started this in January, and will continue to do so each year. Ben and I selected a scripture that we felt would be the right thing to focus on this year and decided on 1 Nephi 3:7. My sweet friend Alison made it into this print for me (and even framed it for me!) so it's hanging on the wall in our home. We try to say it together every morning after family prayer and both boys have it memorized. We have spent several family home evenings this year teaching them stories from the Book of Mormon, emphasizing all those people who were asked to do hard things and responded with the attitude of "I will GO and DO". 

Starting September

We started off September with a beautiful morning at the park! None of our friends could come with us, but that didn't really matter, Chase made friends with the other little boys that were there (of course). I ended up chatting with the boys' super friendly moms and obviously we are now facebook friends with plans to meet up at the park again sometime soon! I'm trying to learn a lesson from my son and just be friends with everyone. It's one of my favorite things about Chase!

 This hat has been part of Chase's summer uniform for the last month, ever since my mom gave it to him. Hudson insisted right away that he didn't like it and "it was dusty." (Dusty is now his word for something he doesn't like, his food is frequently "dusty" so he can't eat it.) Hudson has had a change of heart and now both boys can be seen supporting the Red Sox almost daily.

 We had a really great day at the zoo this week! Our new friends, the Rohbocks, have a zoo pass and can get us all in with it (score!). Chase and Porter are  the same age and have a great time playing together and both boys LOVED running around the zoo together! They both felt mostly the same way about the zoo- the most interesting thing to them was the animatronic dinosaurs (which are a temporary exhibit until October) and the dinosaur digging sight. And then of course they wanted to see the snakes, so I was super brave and went in the reptile house with them and only had a minor heart attack when a boa started moving.

 Hudson is my favorite child ever to take to the zoo. He has enthusiasm coming out his ears and shakes and shivers and yells with delight at every. single. animal. It's such a blast for me! He was so thrilled this time to see the zebras, brown bears (grizzlies) and polar bear, sea lions, elephants and giraffes. At the end we road the zoo train, which was definitely the highlight for both boys.

These are just little pictures I snapped during our Friday pizza and movie night. Hudson reminded me last week that last winter we ate dinner picnic style in front of the movie and that he wanted to do it again. So for the last two weeks we have and it's so fun! I love this little end of week tradition!