Fall Break

Fall Break was so much fun this year! Originally we thought about going somewhere or camping this weekend, but when it came down to it to much other stuff was scheduled during this time. So we decided to stay at home and it was great! We kicked off the fun with a fun afternoon at the Treehouse Museum. My sweet friend Katie gets us in for free and we always love it! Hudson got to be in the "partici-play" and really fulfilled his role as monkey well! They also had a little panda hospital where both boys loved taking care of the baby pandas as part of their temporary China exhibit. 

 One night my parents stopped by so I could cut my dad's hair, after we put the boys to bed. Of course, they hopped right out of bed and immediately hit up Nana for stories. I'm not sure why they are sitting ON the table though...

 Then school was actually out and we planned a whole day of fun! We started off by going to Discovery Gateway. They have a Syd the Science Kid exhibit right now that I knew Chase would love- Hudson had already been once. Chase did love it! This boy loves science and doing experiments. He loved the magnets, microscopes, and other experiments they had. He's an inquisitive kid.

After the museum we headed down to Springville (we spent a lot of time in the van that day!) and met Ashley and her four girls at a beautiful park! We picnicked in the sunny, crisp fall weather and had a great time. I got to hold sweet new baby Sophie, and see the boys interact so sweetly with her (they will be the best big brothers when our little guy comes!). It's always so much fun to hang out with them and we stayed for a good four hours- and I didn't take a single picture! Sometimes you are just having too much fun to take pictures. We even rounded out the trip home with a Costco trip and somehow we all held it together despite none of us getting naps and being gone from home for a solid 10 hours. Luckily, Ben had a delicious dinner waiting for us when we got home that night!

Friday we took much slower. We did a bunch of cleaning around the house and then joined some friends at our neighborhood park for a little fresh air. The boys loved playing in the leaves and sand with Jazz.

 Saturday morning Ben left for a week long work trip to Washington DC. It's good fortune that his company headquarters are just a few hours from where his parents live, so we was able to just fly out a few days early and spend the weekend visiting his parents and grandparents. I don't love having him gone for long spurts of time, but it's worth it, especially when the company pays for it!

We had Chase's last soccer game of this season! Soccer has been such a great experience for him. He's loved every game and he even scored a goal on his last game! We were so proud of him, mostly for his good attitude and how hard he works, even though he frequently has to play the whole game without ever getting a break to sit-out.

 Papa and Nana came to his game- and Papa always brings them donuts and chocolate milk for after. These boys are always happy about donuts!

 Sunday we had a regional conference for church- meaning it's just two hours, but that's with the boys sitting (supposedly quietly) with me the whole time. I wasn't sure we would make it through, but with the help of lots of snacks, quiet toys, and nice people sitting by us, we made it through! I even got a few good gems of wisdom from the talks- which always feels like a bonus when you are trying to manage small children at church!

 Sunday night we went to my parents house and Nana had sugar cookies all cut out and ready to decorate! I was thankful since I'd been meaning to do this with the boys and hadn't gotten around to it. They loved frosting and sprinkling their cookies. They both definitely have a "more is more" philosophy when it comes to cookie decor!

 Then we started the normal school week. I was ready to rock this week as a single parent. I had plans to do lots of fun activities with the boys and our schedule was packed. And it was going fairly well- Chase had red ribbon week at school, but a few of the activities felt a little too weird for him, like mustache day. Hudson, however, DID want a mustache so he sported one for a day or so. Crazy sock day was also too weird for Chase, so we settled on him wearing one black and one white sock, while Hudson wore a pair he stole from Nana that had baby chicks on them all day. Chase was on board with pajama day and hat day though!

So anyway, things were going well until Tuesday night. I caught a nasty flu bug (that had gone through Nora, Will and Kate earlier that weekend) and it was terrible- like up-all-night-can't-keep-even-water-down kind of terrible. I texted my mom early in the morning and she saved my bacon by coming to help get the boys breakfast and settled for the day, and then came back after work to get them dinner, some playtime, bathed and to bed! And I mostly just laid in bed, completely despondent, all day long. And the kids watched lots of TV and stayed out of trouble in the time in between. They even got their own snacks, chocolate chips and regular chips. I'm was so thankful for my mom's rescue, and that my boys were good sports- otherwise it could have been even worse.

So other than that yucky virus, our fall break (and time afterward) was excellent! I sure am ready to get my husband back tomorrow though! Then we can start with the Halloween fun!

Thank Goodness for Octobers

Every year I look forward to October with such anticipation, it is such a beautiful month! And every year I vow that we will thoroughly enjoy it and not take it for granted. It's been a great month for our family, full of lots of fun activities and the beauties of fall. We started it off with Creekside Elementary's Fall Festival, which was so fun! It is their big fundraiser for the year and it was huge and so well planned and attended. The kids looked forward to it all week, and the night of the festival I showed up at 5:00 when it started imagining we would be there for an hour or so. Three hours later we were still going strong! They had so many fun activities to do and Chase loved running into all his friends from school and our ward. This fell on the day after we'd told the boys about the baby, so Chase was quickly spreading the word and telling EVERYONE we saw about his new baby brother.

 Over Conference weekend Papa Ray came to visit! It's been so nice this year to have him visit us twice just about six weeks apart! He had to take an OSHA class and since one was offered in Utah he took it here so he could visit with us! He treated us to a Mexican Restaurant one night, got in some good quality time with the boys, and was able to walk Chase to school his last morning here before he flew out. It was a short, but great visit!

 Soccer! Chase started soccer this fall and it's been a blast to watch! He loves it. He runs around like a little puppy the whole time, just so excited to be part of things. He even high-fives his own teammates when the other team scores (he has such a good attitude!). And when he gets to kick-off he starts clear back at the goal and runs the whole half-field in winding up for his big kick! At this age they only play three kids on the field at a time, but his little team frequently only has three players there and he does great running around and playing the whole game. His coach has been darling with them and it's been a great experience for him- and us too. We love watching his games!

 Since we discovered the beauty of fernwood, just 10 minutes from home, we've been back for another night of picnicking and hiking. The beauty of the leaves right now is just the best. I love my enthusiastic little hikers!

 Chase had a field trip! I got to go with him to chaperone and it was great. They went to Black Island Farms- a super fun pumpkin patch we've been to before. It has lots of fun activities, and then they took the kids on a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch and let them each choose a pumpkin. The real highlight for Chase was riding the school bus- a first for him!

 Since I wanted to go on the field trip, I asked my dad if Hudson could go to work with him for the morning. My sweet dad willingly agreed, but said he'd need to pick Hudson up at 7:00 am. Well I had Hudson up early and he was thrilled to be going to work with Papa! When the field trip was over I called my dad to coordinate getting Hudson back, but he asked to keep him longer since they were having so much fun together. He didn't end up bringing him home until 6:30 that evening- and they were both so happy! I think it's so great that they could spend a whole day together- working- and both be so happy with it. These two have a pretty strong bond- they just get each other. Hudson's favorite parts of the day were the 2 bottles of chocolate milk Papa bought him, the donut he got, and riding on the tractor with Papa. He also told me, "I gave all the farmer's high-fives, and Papa knows all their names." Apparently he didn't stop talking all day long (which wasn't surprising to me at all), but on the way home he got really quiet. My dad asked him why he was quiet and Hudson replied, "I'm just thinking about my day."

 Ben and I had a fabulous date night to the temple and Zucca- one of our favorite restaurants. It had been a busy week and we needed some time to reconnect and just be adults for a night! Since I actually did my hair (which has been a rare occurrence lately) I had him take a picture of my growing baby bump. Here are baby boy and I at 17 weeks.

 And then Hudson wanted to be in a picture. He hugged me so tight, I love the joy this little one brings to our lives!

 This was huge. We did something we said we'd never do. We bought a van. We have been talking and saving and discussing, researching and weighing our options for months. It was finally time (because our lease on our CR-V was about to expire). We sold the CR-V and the next night went to Salt Lake and bought the Odyssey. Really, I think with adding another baby it's the right car for our family and it already feels so comfortable and convenient with the kids. So Ben and I are swallowing our pride and owning that we are now officially a mini-van family! The boys, however, are super ecstatic about the purchase!

 This sweet kid- we checked a book out of the library illustrated completely with stamps made from potatoes. He obviously wanted to try it out. One Saturday night (before a delicious dinner and camp fire at my parents house) Ben and I cut up some potatoes and made stamps for him- a ghost, a pumpkin, and two different shaped leaves. Nana supplied us with some paint and Chase went to town stamping masterpieces! It held Hudson's interest for a few minutes, and then Chase went on to make about 4 more pieces of art! I love these little things that make life so fun and full with little ones.

Out of the Mouth of Hudson

He's been getting dramatic lately. We've heard several times after (minor) disappointments "This is the worst day ever!"

After getting home from my brothers wedding late at night:
Me: Hudson, you were so good at the wedding. Wasn't that fun?
Hudson: That was not fun.

then as we kneeled down for family prayer he said with a big smile on his face, "I'm one tired, sleepy little boy!"

After telling him that our neighbors are moving, "That's horrible!" (He doesn't even know them that well)

"Mom, a saber-toothed tiger is my favorite saber-toothed animal."

Hudson's suggestions for baby brother's name are either "Mr. Toots-a-lot" or "Jack went to Monkeys".

At one Sunday dinner, we were talking about my parents next door neighbors who are elderly and going downhill, losing their memory and probably shouldn't be driving anymore. Suddenly Hudson pipes up with, "Who are you guys talking about? In my mind, I'm thinkin' your talking about the Petersens!" (This is funnier if you know the Petersen's are my parents neighbors who are about their same age- far from being elderly and decrepit.)

One day he announced, "This baby brother is going to be our last baby." He repeated his view on our family planning several times later that day. (To clarify, we don't have a solid plan on if this baby will be our last or not, but Hudson has been SO EXCITED for this baby to come, so it surprised us that he doesn't want any more) He then went on to say, "I'm okay if our aunts and uncles have more babies, I just don't want any more babies in THIS family."

Here comes #3!

Baby #3 is on the way! And we are just so excited about it! Baby is due on March 22.

This pregnancy has been a lot different for a couple of reasons. #1- Diclegis. In the past I've been on Zofran to deal with terrible morning sickness, but now this fancy new drug called Diclegis is on the market and it has been a total game changer for me! It has worked really, really well for me. Usually morning sickness leaves me despondent and barely functional. Between diclegis and eating very often, morning sickness has felt much more manageable this time around. I am so thankful! And diclegis is proven safer and has less side effects.

#2 We didn't tell anyone I was pregnant for a long time. We decided this early on, for many reasons, mainly that we didn't want to tell anyone until we'd told our boys- and once the boys knew it obviously wouldn't be a secret from anyone anymore (our boys love to share any type of news with everyone they meet). So we just kept it between us for 15 weeks. It's probably the first secret I've ever kept in my whole life.

Because we didn't tell anyone we were pregnant, I felt like I had to just toughen up and carry on with normal life. This was easier this time around, since I was just mostly experiencing some annoying nausea instead of my normal debilitating nausea. My energy levels have been so low- I always forget just how tired I am during the first trimester. So I haven't been running at usual speed, but for the most part life has gone as normal. I even planned (and went) on a road trip to Yellowstone right in the middle of my first trimester (I was 9 weeks then) and did just fine. Our yard, however, I pretty much gave up on. I have only had so much energy and weeding just hasn't been a priority.

I was so nervous to have another baby. There will be a little over four years between this baby and Hudson. The last four years with just two kids have been so fun, so manageable and just pretty comfortable. We never really thought we were done, but it never felt like the right time for another baby- and for most of that time I wasn't really baby hungry either! My cute boys filled that need completely. We were starting to feel like it was about time to have another one, when I got a very distinct impression in the temple that now was the time. I think I needed that prompting to give me the push- as much as I wanted another baby in our family, I was dreading another pregnancy. As I wrote above, this pregnancy has been much smoother (although I'd love to just forget the whole month of August and have it stricken from my record forever- it was no picnic). Mostly we are just so happy to be having another child join our family!

At 15 weeks we were able to get an ultrasound and found out that the baby is a ...... Another boy! Right after our appointment we told Chase and Hudson they were getting a baby brother. They were ecstatic! They both immediately ran up and hugged and kissed my belly and told their baby brother how much they loved him. It warmed my heart to see them so excited about this new little member of our family. Ben and I feel so blessed to have another healthy little son to add to our gang!

Welcome Fall!

 We had a magical night tonight. We packed up a simple picnic and headed for the mountains- well, a trailhead about 10 minutes from our house. We ate and watched the sunset and took in the beautiful fall colors. The boys played in the dirt, Ben and I got a few quiet minutes to talk, and we all watched in awe at the beauty surrounding us. We live in a beautiful place. Life is good.

Labor Day Weekend

Our Labor Day weekend (and the week leading up to it) ended up being super crazy and fun and full of family activities! On September 1st, Nate and Halie got married. Since they were in town for a week before the wedding, it was full of family activities, showers and parties! We got in a lot of family time. Aunt Heidi was here from Boston as well- which the boys really loved. This was also Chase's first real week of school, so there was a lot of excitement (and late nights) going on at our house!

The wedding was beautiful and the boys were the cutest ring bearers there ever was. Hudson was fairly uncooperative all day (like we changed him at the venue from his PAJAMAS that he refused to get out of all day into his little suit- at 5:00 pm), and luckily they had a "kid room" at the venue where he could play with toys, watch a movie and eat brownies to his little hearts content! Chase went back and forth between the dance floor, greeting various guests, and the kid room. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but here are a few I got. 

 Saturday and Sunday of that weekend we got together as a whole family again (minus the honeymooners) and had two BBQs and hung out all together. By the time we got to Monday, the actual holiday, we were all exhausted and kind of partied out. I wanted to do something to make Labor Day at least a little special and unique, so we went on a hike. My mom and Heidi joined us and we had a great time!

As fun as it was to have family in town and multiple nights of parties, it was nice to get back to our normal routine. Now we are in the groove of school for Chase and preschool for Hudson! We started a little co-op preschool, and I'm teaching for September and October. Right now we only have three kids (we are still hoping we will find another kid or two to join) and it's been really fun. Hudson has thrived and is learning a lot. He learns so differently that Chase does, which has been fun for me to figure out.

Here he is on his first day of preschool- my baby is growing up!

Back to School

Years ago I read about a tradition many families do for a back to school feast- some type of special meal to celebrate starting a new school year. Since we officially started real school this year, Ben and I decided to start this tradition in our family. Since we were just getting back from vacation (and I didn't want to spend a ton of money) we kept things fairly simple, but we still wanted to make it special, a little different from our usual family dinner. I made crowns for the boys to wear (Chase loved his, Hudson was not quite so sure) and a back-to-school banner for our backdrop. 

 For our menu, I wanted it to feel like a party, so we decided on kabobs! They always feel festive to me. I cut up and marinated chicken, zucchini, red onion, grape tomatoes, bell pepper and pineapple and Ben grilled the skewers. I made a tomato-bread salad, that I loved (turns out I was the only one). We finished off with fresh peach pie, made from peaches from our trees, and vanilla ice cream. It was a delicious meal!

After dinner (and baths and haircuts), Ben gave Chase a special father's blessing. Chase was very reverent. Afterwards, Ben asked Hudson if he would like one too. Hudson said, "Yes, but only if mommy does mine." We explained it didn't work that way, and then Hudson said, "Okay dad, but make it short, okay?"

Then it was the first day of school! He was so excited to go! He wore his brand new Nike's and the shirt he's been saving all summer for the first day of school. I walked to school with him, he held my hand the whole way, and I couldn't believe my baby was heading off into the world!

 He got Mrs. Miller in the morning kindergarten class- which is just what we were hoping for! He has his little friends Ella, Luca and Paisley in his class. In fact, on the second day (when parents didn't stay) Chase and Paisley nervously walked into the school together, holding hands, and my heart about burst! I know he will make a whole slew of new friends, but I'm so glad he has a few little friends to start with!

We are "carpooling" with Luca. I walk the boys to school in the mornings and Luca's mom picks them up. We both only have room for one extra kid in our cars, so it worked out perfect for us. Walking to school in the mornings has been fun. We live about one mile from the school, so it's totally doable. We are going to try to do it every day until the weather gets bad.

So far my reports from school (after just one week) is that he's working on cutting with scissors (something I never do with him at home), writing his name (he's learning to turn his "s" around) and he loves recess, computers and library!

So far Hudson seems to really enjoy his one-on-one time with mom while Chase has been in school (although sadly, life has been so busy this special time has mostly been running errands or Hudson watching a screen while mommy was busy with other stuff. This should start getting better!) However, Hudson is always very excited when his brother gets home from school! Hudson will start our little co-op preschool next week.

We are doing this thing! Real life with a kid in school! Our life suddenly feels so structured! We started Chase doing a job chart each morning before school to work on earning a little allowance. His jobs are making his bed, cleaning up his room, emptying the garbages, and setting the table. If he gets all his "x's" each day he gets a dollar at the end of the week. So far he's been very motivated. Right now I remind him to get his chores done, but if he whines about doing them he doesn't get a x. We are going to work up to him remembering to do it all on his own each day. It feels so good to have predictable, happy help with cleaning up in the morning! I think school is going to be great this year!