This is for you, TD :)

So I had a friend who moved away a few years ago visit this Sunday and she told me that I needed to update my blog more often and that she was unofficially giving me that New Year's resolution. I make no promises though. My life is beyond crazy right now. I just took over 2 more apartment complexes which have kept me plenty stressed out and super busy the last few weeks. I would love to spend an entire day at home where I didn't have to run here or there to get something accomplished. Or have ridiculous apartment junk running through my mind all day. I also started the Bikini Body Mommy challenge 3.0 this week. My body has felt pretty sore and tired the last few days. I did the 2.0 challenge in September with T-Lo and I lost 7 pounds in the 12 weeks and I think quite a few inches. The only reason I say that is because my kids kept taking off with the measuring tape and I never got to do my final measurements. Any who.... on to the update!

We took our kids to the Seattle Temple on New Years Eve. I enjoyed it. This might have to become a tradition. What better way to start off the new year than at the Lord's house! So beautiful! I am using this picture as the background on my phone now and I love seeing it every time I turn it on. I haven't been to the temple in awhile. It's so hard when you have little nursing babies. Hopefully soon though!

 Deklan was very upset when we told him it was closed. He wanted to go in! I hope that desire to enter the temple stays with him throughout his lifetime. This nativity scene was still up so we had to take pics with that too.

I picked up a kids cookbook at our library a couple of days ago and I found Tripp in our kitchen with it. He was pulling out all the ingredients to make "The best pizza ever." I didn't know that he knew what olive oil was or where to find it. I was super impressed. So I helped my little chef make dinner. It was so fun teaching him how to knead dough. I have made cookies with my kids several times but this was the first time I made dough with him. (Making "scripture cookies" was probably our favorite family night activity last year) Here he is with his finished masterpiece:

It was super delicious! I told him that he could make dinner for us every night. On a side note, I was so sad when Christmas break ended and this little monkey had to go back to school. It was so nice having him home.

And here is my 7 month old Baine.

Wait a minute....who stole my Baine and replaced him with this crawling robot baby? Baine really started cruising this week. He actually used to look a lot more like a mechanical crawling toy, he is already getting better so I knew I needed to film him quick. He even pulled himself up to a standing position by our lovesac and took a couple steps before he face planted tonight! Slow down kid! I'm not ready for this.

Raidon

Raidon update: I took away this guy's binki on New Years Eve. So haven't experienced many naps this year. He will also start potty training later this month since he got undies for Christmas.

Deklan

Deklan update: This guy loves to play on the computer. He got a toy grill set for Christmas and we have had several adventures at Deko's Diner. He is also emerging as the class clown of preschool. Every time I drop him off he has to do something goofy to make the girls laugh.

And there you have it! That is all I have for you for now. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can update this thing again.

Merry Christmas to Who!

We would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas!

We had a ward party a few weeks ago and we were supposed to dress up as our favorite Whoville characters. So here is my Whoville family:

I didn't think to take a picture until the party was over. So my hair was starting to fall out and we couldn't separate Deko from his cupcake for even 10 seconds to snap a pic.

 Tripp (6) started first grade this year. He is an amazing student who loves to read and learn. His teacher only has positive things to tell me. He is a great big brother. He loves to play with his brothers and show them how to do things. He played in the Pee Wee soccer league this year and is awesome! He has gotten really good and dribbling the ball down to the goal. I am so happy that he gets to be at home with me for the next 2 weeks of Christmas break.

Deklan (4) is my little preschooler. He fought me every time I had to take him to school and I had to leave him in tears each time I dropped him off. Until recently, he had a change of heart and loves going to school. Deko is my little firecracker. I know which days he hasn't received enough attention because he will start acting very naughty. He is also my most lovable boy. He always tells me that he will be my baby forever.

 Raidon (2) is just as wild as his older brothers. He wants to do everything they are doing. He loves electronics and he loves to dance! His favorite game right now is Duck, duck, goose. He will start playing that game anytime someone is sitting on the floor. Most of the time he calls Baine the goose. He is starting to talk a lot more and it is so fun to see more of his personality come out each day.

 Baine (6 months) just started eating baby food. He is super smiley but can be really loud if you walk away from him. He loves his brothers and gets so excited when they give him their attention. He has started crawling but only backwards. He rolls like a mad man and spins 360's like nobody's business. We are so glad that this bundle of joy is in our home!

 Randy is supposed to be the Grinch if you couldn't guess. He wouldn't let me paint his face though :( Randy started his own business this year and it has been so nice having him home during the day. Randy is the assistant stake athletic director. He has had to ref and help out with the volleyball tournament this year and will soon be very busy with the basketball tournaments that start in January. He is also a teacher in the Elders Quorum and teaches once a month.

 And that leaves me. What can I tell you about myself? I have absolutely hated this year. I have cried almost everyday for the last 9 months. I cannot begin to explain to you how stressful it is to learn that you are being sued when you are 7 months pregnant. I thought I knew what heart burn was but boy was I wrong. My doctor told me that when you are pregnant your body automatically creates more stomach acid. Combine that with not being able to eat and you have a recipe for some killer heart burn. I am so ready to drop kick 2014 out of my life. The only good thing that happened to me this year is being able to bring Smiley Baine into my home. He has been such a blessing to have. Don't get me wrong, he is a pretty naughty baby who loves to keep us up at night but a joy to have nonetheless. Our trial isn't until May which is only if they decide not to push it back again. So most of 2015 will suck too. I have been amazed at the hate directed at my family. But also astounded at the love we have experienced too. I am so thankful for the people around me who love and care for me and my family. You are wonderful! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much a kind word or smile has meant to me this year. It made a difference! I am the assistant secretary in the Relief Society. That means the only thing I do is type up the announcements each week. Super easy! I love this calling and I love being able to attend Relief Society finally. I have been in primary for the past 9 years, so this has been a nice break.

 From my family to yours, we wish you a very merry Christmas and the best of luck and happiness for the new year! May the spirit of the Lord dwell within your hearts all year long!

Free Day

We had been feeling bad for our kids lately -keeping them stuck at home every Saturday since we can't afford to do anything. So I found a free outing we could enjoy.

 We went to the Childrens Museum in Tacoma -which is by donation or free if you can't afford to donate. We found out that it is free to park at the Tacoma Dome station and then we would have to ride the Light Link rail for 3 stops -which is also free.

 Our kids loved the new adventure of riding the rail!

  

Raidon loved putting the scarves in this air tube. We stayed there for quite awhile.

 This is Deko on the boat. His favorite place is the water area. Whenever we lost him, we knew we could always find him there. We also discovered that Raidon loves the water area too. His only problem is that he won't wear the smocks to protect his clothes from getting soaked.

We also packed peanut butter sandwiches so we wouldn't have to buy food. It was a fantastic free day!

Hang 10

Yesterday was our 10th Anniversary. How crazy is that! I told Randy that I wanted to re-create one of our wedding photos.

After having Tripp take this picture, I decided that we are really bad at re-creating moments. Randy is doing that dumb "no-shave November" so yes, he looks like a creeper who is going to kill me.

 Haven't changed a bit, have we?

 I bought some crab legs for dinner. My kids love them! The little stinkers probably ate more than we did! We also had sparkling cider and a sea salt caramel cheesecake for dessert.

 Raidon wouldn't try it, no surprise there...

 Deklan said he was going to use that against bad guys 

 I also force Randy to watch the wedding video that we made -every anniversary. I'm sure you made one for your wedding too. The pictures of us as babies and then all of our engagement pictures. Tripp kept shouting out, "That's me!" on all of Randy's little boy pictures. I think Deko actually looks a lot like me when I was little. I told Deko that it was a picture of him in a pink dress. So for the rest of the night he kept asking me why he was wearing a dress.

After all that excitement, Randy let me play in our regional volleyball tournament. It was so fun! It has been awhile since I was on the court. It was a very inexpensive anniversary since we are still stuck in a stupid lawsuit. We always said we would go to Hawaii on our 10th anniversary, that will have to wait. Thank you for a fun night Randy! I look forward to the next 10 years with you!

Family is awesome

My dad, Crystal, and my Grandma came to visit us in October. It was so fun to have them over. My dad had just bought himself a new tool set and needed an excuse to use it. So he built these sweet shelves in my garage.

And this bike rack

And a tool holder. My garage is so organized now! They were actually able to park their car in it. It was pretty neat seeing 3 cars in our garage.

My dad also bought us a city pass. I forgot to take my phone when we went to the Space needle, the Argossy cruise, and the Seattle Aquarium. But I did remember it for the museum of flight! This is my Grandma in front of a mail plane.

 And my Poppy

 Had to pose with Grandpa in front of the Blue Angels

 We also found my Grandma a boyfriend!

 Growing up, to distinguish which grandparents we were talking about, we called her "little Grandma." I guess I never realized how "little" she actually was. She is 4' 9"-legally a midget, but doesn't claim that status. Tripp started calling her mini Grandma. I guess that works too.

My hoodlums

 Did you know that I have two sets of twins? They just happen to be 4 years apart.

 And yes, Baine was crying the whole 30 seconds that I was trying to take a picture. Still haven't mastered the art of taking decent pictures of this crew together.

Winner is...

Frankinweenie!

Thank you to everyone who voted!

Need your votes again :)

We had another pumpkin carving contest at the apartments. Sadly I had no child entries this year. Please vote for your favorite by Thursday, October 30th. The winner receives a $100 rent credit

#1 Frank

 #2 Seahawks

 #3 Headless Horseman

 #4 Beetlejuice

 #5 Frankinweenie

#6 Boo

You can leave a comment on my blog or email me with your votes. Thank you for your help!