London- Celebrating 10 years of marriage!

10 years! Ben and I love to travel and we've been planning on doing a fun trip together to celebrate 10 years of marriage (with the plan that we'll do the same thing at 20,30,40 years etc.) since we'd been married for like a year or something. It just seems like the perfect way to celebrate! We ended up going a little early (our anniversary isn't until July) because we had some airline credit that was expiring soon. After weighing a bunch of different options we landed on LONDON as our destination! I'm so glad we did- it was amazing!

We left the boys in the loving care of Nana and Papa and headed to London on March 30. Our flights were smooth and uneventful, just super super long! I was glad during those flights that we didn't have the kids with us, even though I missed them a lot! We landed in London at 7 am (midnight Utah time) after getting basically no sleep on the planes we were exhausted. We couldn't check into our hotel until later in the day, so we dropped our bags and started walking! We headed right to Kensington Gardens since we were staying nearby. It was raining and cold, the gardens we beautiful, and we were just so exhausted! I walked Ben clear over to Palace Court and showed him the BYU London Centre that I love so much! We grabbed a croissant at Pret (my fav) and walked around the gardens some more. By noon we were so cold and SO SO tired, and Ben was able to pay convince them to let us in to our hotel a few hours early and we crashed for a little bit! 

 We got up and walked around some more that evening, seeing St. Pauls, the millennium bridge, a tiny bit of that Tate Modern (just because we needed to use the bathrooms) and headed back towards our hotel. Speaking of which, we stayed in South Kensington and I loved it so much! The streets there were so beautiful and charming. There were so many amazing and diverse restaurants in our neighborhood, and it was a little less busy than central London. It was so great! Our room itself was laughably small, like 12 inches around the bed and that's it, but it was just fine for the two of us!

Sunday morning we headed to the Tower of London. I was so excited to take Ben here and do the Beefeater tour, which didn't disappoint. It was crowded, but we still enjoyed seeing it and learning so much about London's history.

 We saw the Tower Bridge, which is one of my favorite sites ever. Hudson really wanted us to "find" this super unique bridge and was so proud of us when we sent this picture. We went back the next night to see it lit up at night, which I actually prefer. It was quiet in this area and we just sat and enjoyed the view for a while.

Sunday afternoon, after a stop at the National Gallery to see some of my favorite paintings, we stumbled upon this pub and decided to grab some fish and chips for dinner. Since we love Sherlock Holmes, we decided to give it a try and it ended up being one of our favorite meals of the trip. The ambiance was so fun and the food was good (well, Ben really liked it, I'm not a huge fish and chips fan in general, but I thought it was okay).

After seeing the British Museum on Monday we had afternoon tea at the Ham Yard Hotel. It was so fun! We loved the scones and were surprised how delicious the passionfruit-mango macaron was! It was fun to sample all these decadent treats while sipping hot chocolate in a fancy setting!

 That night as we were out and about we stopped to see Buckingham Palace. Ben was unimpressed, but I made him take a picture anyway. It is huge, but I guess it does look fairly basic.

 Tuesday we went to the Churchill War Rooms, which was a highlight of the trip for us! So well preserved and so interesting. It's amazing to learn about the history surrounding Britain's role in WWII and specifically Churchill. Although he really wasn't a great guy on a personal level, his leadership and commitment to fighting Hitler (opposed to appeasement like his predecessor) probably changed the whole scope of history. We were discussing how the outcome of WWII might have been different had Churchill not been there- would Hitler have been defeated? Could the USA have done it without Britain's help? Interesting (and scary) to think about.  We followed this up with a fun trip to Borough Market, which was awesome!

 This little place was right outside our tube stop- and we had to stop since they were called Ben's cookies!

 One night we didn't have anything planned so Ben suggested we go find 221B (Sherlock Holme's home). We did! It was a fun little adventure.

 Wednesday we went to the Imperial War Museum. They have a really special Holocaust museum here that we spent a lot of time at. It was so heartbreaking, and we learned a lot. It sparked a lot of interesting discussions for us about history and the correlation to what is going on in our world now. We also talked a lot about how we want to teach our children to be loving, kind and accepting- nothing like this to remind us about the devastation of discrimination.

 Our last day we really chill- we didn't have much planned. We wandered around the V and A museum a little, poked around Harrods, bought some presents for the boys (not at Harrod's- too expensive!), and then grabbed some favorite pastries and headed back to Kensington Gardens. The sun was out (a rarity this week) and we sat on a bench and ate and enjoyed our last day in London.

 This trip was really amazing! We loved having so much uninterrupted time together! It was also amazing to me how easy and carefree traveling is without children! I love traveling with our kids, but it was also amazing to go just the two of us. We got to reflect a lot on the last (almost) ten years of marriage how crazy life has been to us. There have been some serious twists and turns in our road, but it's still taken us somewhere amazing, even if it's not what we'd planned or pictured when we were first married. I love this man and love the life we've built together!

A little sidenote about traveling- mostly for my boys if they ever read this when they are older- One of the keys I've learned to successful traveling is that you just have to know that some things will go wrong and you have to decide not to let anything ruin your trip. This trip was amazing, but of course there were a few little things that weren't quite what we'd hoped. Big Ben is completely covered in scaffolding, making this iconic site and view quite anticlimactic. Our hotel room so much tinier than expected. Crowds were crazy in London this week, so we had to wait in some unexpected lines. And it rained and was a little chilly most of the time we were here. None of this ruined our trip! We were just able to say "oh well!" and enjoy all the beauty and fun around us, and on being together. 

Motherhood these days

 I have had so many thoughts swirling around my head lately, mostly about motherhood. I am deep in the trenches of it. These kids consume almost every minute of my day, every thought in my head, and definitely use up almost all my energy. The thing is, I LOVE this stage of life. It is a stage I always looked forward to, daydreamed about, and now that it's here it's even better than I hoped. It's also much harder and more exhausting, but still the very best thing I've ever done.

 Our life is crazy, and I've actually found that the busier moments are some of my favorite. Once we wake up in the morning (usually in the 6:30 region) it's go-go-go for the next few hours. I usually spend a solid hour in the kitchen, making breakfast, feeding everyone, making lunches, cleaning up breakfast. It's a lot of mess and dishes, and still I just love it. Then we get everyone dressed and ready, hopefully with their hair done (sometimes that doesn't happen), beds made, laundry started. We leave the house at 8:30 am- with usually happy, dressed, well-fed kids, a dishwasher humming away in my clean kitchen, the washing machine doing it's thing, and I weirdly just feel so accomplished. We are doing this! It sounds kind of lame that I get so much satisfaction out of our mornings, but I really do.

 I feel the same way about dinner time and bedtime. Those last few hours of the day are so chaotic, but also kind of the stuff motherhood is all about. Making nutritious food for my family, talking about their day at dinner. We usually do "highs and lows" or "happy and sads" and everyone shares their best and worst parts of their days. I love hearing about how their perceived their life and their day. Sometimes it leads to great discussions. Sometimes we just prod the kids to eat their vegetables for a solid twenty minutes. Either way, I'm still glad we do it. I also love bedtime. I love bathing kids, getting them all comfy in jammies and ending our day with prayers and scripture study. My very favorite part is when I go lay on their bed with them, read them stories and sing to them. They are usually calm and cuddly. I love doing those things. It's just happy.

 There are so many other moments throughout the day that just bring delight to my heart and soul. I love watching my kids interact with each other. I love seeing their creations with legos and lincoln logs. I love the funny things they say that make me laugh. I love seeing the big kids purposely "serve"- like making us all toast for breakfast (Chase) or insisting on opening and closing my car door for me (Huds). I love watching Davis explored and learn and giggle. I love watching Chase play soccer and Hudson play in his imaginary world. I love watching as the whole family cheers while Davis takes a few, wobbly steps. Every single hug, kiss and "i love you" from my boys means the world to me.

 Davis has been, by far, the worst sleeper of the bunch. He's still not sleeping through the night 100% of the time, although he's come a long way. Teething has been rough for this kid. It has given me so many opportunities to sit and rock him in the middle of the night. During those dark, quiet moments in his nursery, when he's in my arms I feel so happy and content. Sure, I'd rather be sleeping, but also not. I know how fleeting this time with him truly is, and I really just enjoy the quiet cuddles. I don't ever want to feel like I wished away this stage of motherhood- so far I really haven't. I have really, truly enjoyed every stage and almost every moment with my sweet, wonderful boys.

I know I'm far from a perfect mother. I lose my patience with my boys too often. I'm sure I've let teaching moments pass by because I was too busy or lazy. But I'm so thankful that my kids are forgiving of my shortcomings. I'm so thankful that I get to be their mom. I know so many women that haven't had the chance to be mothers that so dearly want this chance. I do not take these kids for granted. This stage of life is so precious and so wonderful and I'm so thankful that I'm right in the thick of it. 

Some March Fun

We have filled March with a bunch of fun activities! We had a fun little party at Grandma and Papa Ray's new house in Layton to celebrate Davis and Jordyn's recent birthdays! Davis loved having cupcakes again!

 This is just a picture of the biggest and littlest before church one Sunday. I think Hudson was still getting ready. I can't even express how much we are loving 9:00 church- Sundays are back to being a little more restful and our kids are so much better behaved at church. And as a fun bonus, Davis has been sweetly drifting off to sleep in my lap in Sunday School every week and I get to snuggle him, which is basically heaven for me!

 Classic March weather here- snow some days, beautiful sunshine some days! Whenever we get a sunny day we take full advantage of it! We've been to a few different parks, usually with friends, and had a great time! This fun park across from the library really makes for a good combo (library first, then we play). It's designed for kids ages 5-12, and we've been to it many times since the boys were 1-3 years old. Now that they are older they really can enjoy the full range of fun activities this park offers! Chase was so pleased with himself that he can now climb this whole rock wall.

 We had a Pi day party! It was a rainy Wednesday night and I spent a good portion of that day making pies. I made four! (Lemon sour cream, key-lime, apple and chocolate) We had the Booyses, Baccioccos, Josephs and Rohbocks over (which is so many little kids running around our house!) and everyone had a great time! We love a good excuse to eat pie.

 Then it was St. Patrick's Day! The boys really wanted to make leprechaun traps this year and they all met up at Baccioccos one day and put these simple little traps together. I love them because they were 100% their own ideas and creations. I just sent them with some supplies and they did the rest! They set them out Friday night and found the gold coin they used as bait was gone in the morning, and Lucky the Leprechaun left them a little note.

I heard Chase get up early on Saturday morning and go check out the scene downstairs. He was very disappointed that he didn't catch a leprechaun and also declared "Everything is boring down there! He didn't turn the milk green or make a mess or ANYTHING!" (Oops...) Once he discovered Lucky's note he felt better. Also, green pancakes were a hit with all three boys! 

 Also we told them that we did catch a little leprechaun....DAVIS!

 We've been to the discovery museum a few times this month and it's always such a hit with all three kids! I'm so glad we have so many fun things to do around here, which makes winter and dreary weather so much easier for us to handle!

I had my nieces here one day and I snapped a few pictures of Davis and Anna. They really didn't cooperate very well and got fairly distracted by the crackers I was trying to use to bribe them to sit still and be happy. But we got a few candid shots that I love. These two! I think they'll be great friends as they grow up!

Davis is ONEIIII

 One year old Davis:

• Can be quite a picky eater- he will like something one day and refuses it the next. Generally he loves oatmeal waffles, white rolls, blueberries, ice cream, sometimes chicken, broccoli, green beans and grapes. Nana made an enchilada casserole for his birthday dinner and he loved it.
• He sleeps with his two stuffed animals, baby elephant and "bei bei" (a baby panda) and his dino blanket at night. He loves his animals and wraps them in full body hugs (using his arms AND legs). It's the cutest thing!
• Cruises around furniture, occasionally stands on his own for a few seconds at a time. He loves pushing his walker toy around. No real steps yet.
• Loves to create chaos. He hurries around the house and empties whatever cupboards or baskets are within reach. He especially loves to empty the shoe rack. It's basically his job.
• He's the most social baby- he loves being around anyone and everyone. He gets really excited when he sees his brothers.
• He loves balls. And anything his brothers are playing with. Also, if he sees my cell phone he. must. have. it. now. We joke about it being "his" and he uses it to make his important calls. He holds it up to his ear and babbles.
• People at church frequently tell me he's their "favorite baby"- I think mostly because he loves to engage with people. And I'll admit that while most babies are super cute, his red hair, blue eyes and dimple make him very uniquely cute.

 We had a fun little birthday with our boy! We started off with yummy waffles with whipped cream and strawberries (which Davis loved). We had church, during which he was super good and sweet. He even cuddled up on my lap and sweetly slept all the way through Sunday School! I may have not been listening to the lesson much as I just basked in the sweetness of the moment and was having flashbacks to cuddling him for the first time exactly one year ago.

After church and naps we had a little birthday party at Nana and Papa's. We had a delicious dinner made by Nana and then unwrapped presents! He thought the tearing paper part was hilarious and belly laughed through it all! His brothers were pretty impatient and enthusiastic and did most of the unwrapping for him, but he seemed to enjoy it all the same. He loved his gifts and was super cute playing with them!

Then we let him have a cupcake! We did a little leprechaun party for our little leprechaun (meaning green balloons and green cupcakes with a gold coin in the tops). He devoured his cupcake and was obviously thrilled we just let him go for it! Then it was straight into the tub for Davis! 

I really don't even have words to express what an amazing addition to our family Davis has been. He is such a loved and adored baby. He's so sweet and smart and demanding and has the cutest little personality. It's crazy to think back on this last year, which has gone entirely too fast, and think about what our family was like before Davis. We couldn't even imagine how much joy was in store for us a year ago! We love you Davis! You've changed our lives and our family in the very best way. Happy First Birthday little one!