Thursday, November 26, 2015

Thoughts in November and lots of Thanks


This month always brings lots of thoughts of family, traditions, and reminding myself to be grateful for the little things, as well as the big. We've hit a real good stride recently but that doesn't mean we have be free from hiccups now and then. I just think for us it means we are better able to handle the hiccups and recover from them faster. Like loosing my job when my previous employer decided to close up shop. It was hard at first (though I LOVED the extra 4 weeks of sleep!) but now I'm back to working again and I'm grateful for it! 

Patience is not my strong suit and I pray daily (several times a day!) for more of it in my life. I want to enjoy these precious days with my girls because they are going super fast. I'm grateful for those moments where I have enough patiences to handle these "little" situations with my girls, or just in life.

I'm grateful every day for Tyson and his thoughtful spirit. When he returns from work, I always become giddy because it's just so much better to be with him! He does so much for our family and makes life exciting and full of joy! 





Taryn's preschool put on the cutest little Thanksgiving performance there ever was! This was the Tue/Thurs and Mon/Wed/Fri classes combined. Super cute kids all around!


Taryn contributed to the class Turkey by painting her feather. It's the 5th from the bottom on the right side. She did it all herself and when she said she was done, I said, "Ok!" I didn't think much of it until another Mom committed on it. She said, "You can tell Taryn did her feather all by herself. I love that!" She may not really be into arts and crafts but she will put forth some effort every now and then. She's more of an athlete and I think that's great. I'm thankful for who she is and what she likes to do. 


I'm sure they had leopard print back then, right??!! ;)


This is Taryn to a "T." She talks all day about her cousins, loves her teachers (church and school) so very much, and she always says the phrase, "so sweet to me." She has a very tender heart. 


Taryn's turkey in the middle.




After the performance, families were invited to a potluck. The girls picked what they wanted and Taryn gobbled up the chow main, her new favorite food. Haddie insisted on wearing her super hero cape to the Thankgiving performance :) Little Haddie is just so happy about life and it has definitely changed my perspective frequently as I watch how she handles situations. 



I am grateful Taryn & Haddie have each other as sisters (even though in this shot, Haddie is screaming for Taryn to "stop push-ing!!!!" her. Heheh! But then there are those heart warming moments where they help each other, show concern for each other's feelings, and share without being prompted. Those moments fill me to the brim with love!

A wanted to share this tender story from Taryn this past week
This past Monday we had a Family Home Evening about President Heber J. Grant's story, "The Coat: A story of Charity" which has now been made into a 2 minute video on youtube. It's worth a watch- and will make you cry! Anyways, we watched the video and read that story about how Heber as a young boy received a new coat made by his mother after his was worn and torn. He could now play freely in the snow without shivering. But while playing he sees another boy his age out in the cold, trying to warm himself by a house vent. Heber observes this boy struggling to stay warm. Later that day Heber returned home with no coat on. His mother asked what had happened to his new coat. Heber replied with teary eyes that he had seen a boy in need and given it away. The mother, with tears in her eyes, knew that her son had done a good deed for this other little boy. 
We've watched this video several times over the years and it touches me every time. This year we created a Family Home Evening around it because we had the opportunity to donate our gently used coats to the Syrian Refugees. We explained that what we did for them was exactly what Heber did for that young boy. 
We also explained that we would be participating in "The Giving Tree" where we can pick a tag off a Christmas Tree in our church's foyer and on it would be an item needed by someone locally. We would then purchase those items and return them to be donated to those who need it. 
Taryn listened carefully and then said, "I want to wrap the present and give it to them. Then I want to give them the money from my [piggy] bank." I burst into tears! I leaned over to give Taryn and hug and say, "That's the most wonderful thought!" Both Tyson and I were so touched! Taryn is really sensitive and tender. She is such a great example to our family. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Enjoying the days of Fall with two cuties!




There is so much that I love about these pictures of Taryn. One- she dressed her self and was really feeling all things flowery. Two- our fall days have been super wonderful with great weather, even warm enough to wear sandals! Three- The girls appreciate the fall just as much as I do. They frequently  say, " Look at that one!!!" referring to all the beautiful fire red leaves on the trees or the golden yellows. I love when Haddie chimes in as well. "Look at dat one, Mama!" 





You can tell that she was loving our little walk after dropping Taryn off at preschool. 



Yup, she's the best! I was falling over as I took this shot because her hug was so powerful. I love those hugs so much.






Climbing climbing climbing



Taryn didn't think she was in a very steady place (hence the troubled look on her face) but Haddie was just as nervous too…but happy to explore.




Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Zoo Trip in the Fall- all the animals come out to play!


A bright sunny glorious day in November where we can wear shorts and t-shirts…umm….that screams Zoo Day!
We watched the feeding of the otters. They always remind me of playful Taryn. 


Taryn & Haddie were fantastic all day long. I was super impressed with them. There was some whining about wanting to sit in the stroller but it lasted for only a few seconds really.  I have to tell you that this was one of the best Zoo visits we've ever had. We met up with a bunch of friends which meant we had a LOTS of kids trailing behind us! Zoo days can be long and hard (and fun!)  but in general, it's always a good time. 


Taryn & Naomi- I think they look like twins! And Naomi is one year older!


We were lucky that this Emu was behind a fence and behind another layer of netting because he definitely tried to peck at the girls. He was really cute, actually. 


Blonde & curls!


Beautiful fall trees all around. 


we saw the Flamigos for the first time ever. We've lived here for over 3 years and just now saw the flamingos?! How did that happen?


Haddie and Olivia clench those magic clip princesses all day every day. Some how we've been able to tell their dolls apart all this time. And these two girls used to be frenemies but now they are besties. We won't mention that one time Haddie felt generous and gave Olivia a big warm loving hug and made Olivia pass out because she doesn't like people in her personal bubble. Haha! I only laugh because she's  passed out multiple times before in stressful situations and luckily her parents are super calm when it happens and they know just how to wake her up. Me on the other hand…. well, I was holding my breathe too, hoping she would snap out of it quickly. Luckily, they are still friends and now Olivia welcomes Haddie's little gentle hugs. 



Haddie loved this little bird so much. Actually, when we headed to the zoo I asked her what she wanted to see. She told me "pink animals." And somehow I made it happen ;) Between this bird and the flamingos, Haddie (and Taryn!) were on cloud nine!

I tell myself to wear workout clothes every time I go to the zoo because I always end up sweating buckets because of the giant up hill venture we take to get back to the car. Well…maybe next time I'll listen to myself. 

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Our 6th Anniversary- Temple Trip and Dates


I love that we were married in the Fall. It's my favorite season and it just gets better being in a place where you can experience the leaves changing, the weather becoming chilly, and the moods of people becoming lighter. You can see people enjoying this time of year. I happen to enjoy it even more because I get to celebrate being in love. 

We celebrated our 6th wedding Anniversary on November 7th and everything aligned to make a fantastic day. Our ward planned a temple trip that day with babysitting scheduled so we were able to drop off the girls and enjoy a date to the Temple! The roads were lined with beautiful fall colors and it rained just a bit. Truly gorgeous. Returning to the temple on our anniversary always brings back vivid memories of the day we were sealed in the Newport Beach temple. It was an amazing day! 
On our way back, we learned our girls were the only kids to show up for babysitting so the babysitters suggested we have a mini date and grab lunch. We were happy to take them up on it and I was even happier when our lunch spot was across the street from Paul, a bakery I've been dying to try since we moved here. We may have gotten rained on but those were the best desserts we have had in such a long time. 


Tyson- wearing our wedding tie that his groomsmen & my brothers wore. He does this every year!

Tyson had the eclair and I had the Chocolate mousse cake with hazelnut cream. 
We felt like we were back in Europe. 



We spent the rest of the day with the girls and then while they were sleeping for the night, we had our babysitter come and take over so we could sneak out for our dinner date. I count that as 3 dates in one day! Or a marathon date! Thanks again to our friends who surprised us with a lunch date!



Uncle Julio's Mexican Food was amazing. I remember going to a Relief Society activity of "Our favorite things" one woman brought an entire bag of Uncle Julio's chips and salsa, saying she likes to go there at least once on the weekend. That meant it had to be good, right? Oh man. It's our favorite spot for Mexican food right now! Delicious!



I'm grateful that I have Tyson in my life and that we have two beautiful, spunky girls. Marriage is so much fun and I'm happy I get to spend eternity with my guy. 
Love you, Tys. 



Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Some of fall for 2015


Baby doll comes everywhere. 





A few days during the week once Taryn is at preschool, Haddie becomes my exercise buddy. I get flashbacks of when it was just Taryn and me, using the same stroller for walks around Bologna, Italy and Washington, D.C. I love those one on one moments I get to have with my girls. After I'm done, I let patient Haddie out so she can explore. Because Fall is everywhere now, it's fun to see her study leaves and fallen sticks or her just being her silly self. 



In just about a weeks time, my running buddies went from strolling along with me in their jammies to…...


wearing snow jackets and double layers of blankets. The mornings are super super chilly now! At one point Taryn buried herself under the blanket to get warmer. Burr!




For Haddie's birthday in the beginning of October, we found mini versions of her favorite books that we normal check out at the library. When they arrived in the mail, she and Taryn fell in love with them. Make anything mini and it's better, if you ask me!



They read these little books (Taryn making up words and Haddie pretending along) over and over again...


And when we went to the park, they had to come along too. There was no way of getting them out of her hands!


Taryn learned how to pump herself on the swing this past month and it's the best thing ever. She also learned how to jump off a swing because her 5 year old friend at preschool can. 



Apparently she needs time to find her inner peace. I turned the corner and found her like this, trying not to bust up laughing. We laughed for a good long time about this while I tried to get a picture without shaking the camera from my laughter. 


Doing what she does best!




What's fall without spiders- seriously?!! So gross. I went to grab my keys from the side pocket in my purse and when I put my hand inside I saw something move. I thought it was a spricket (the grossest looking creatures ever- almost as bad as the house centipede) but when I looked closer after screaming my head off, I saw it was a spider. Cue chills down my back! I scared the girls and myself. I emptied my purse, preparing to shake it like crazy -keeping one eye on the icky spider and then I threw my purse outside and had to coach the spider out. 


Grosssssss!!!! I kinda wanted to burn my purse after this. The sad thing is it isn't the first time we've seen these awful creatures. 



I guess sometimes perfect fall days can be rough at the park 




A friend dropped off these flowers after I had a rough few days. It's amazing how much some bright flowers can really lighten your spirit! 
Note to self : buy more flowers!