Back to Life. Back to Reality.

Dave finished up our built in shelf in the bathroom! It turned out so great I want one in the upstairs bathroom now. I'll have to find things to fill it with, but for now these bottles will work.

Brooklyn always finds new ways to get into trouble. She has figured out how to climb up on the kitchen table. So now nothing is safe! She's only fallen off once so far, but I can't figure out a way to keep her off the table. Hopefully she will at least learn to be more careful.

Dustin has really bloomed as a artist lately. He will draw pages of pictures at a time and has added features like hair and belly buttons.

Brooklyn and Dustin are becoming better friends. Dustin has been sneaking out to the back yard to jump on the trampoline or skate on the ice. Lately after playing for a while he will come inside and request his sister join him. Sometimes I worry that the boys will spoil their little sister, because "she's so cute mom." but they fight enough that it probably won't happen.

One of Logan's Christmas gifts was a super over sized cheetah. So we are now the proud owners of 3 oversized animals. This one lives in the basement. The boys love snuggling with it while they watch a show.

For Family Home Evening on Monday we discussed goal setting and made some New Years goals. I broke them down into educational, health, and spiritual goals. We set some for our family (like swimming once a month and reading the scriptures every day), and each of us set individual goals. Logan has been dedicated to his goal to exercise every day. After dinner he asks if it's time to get on the treadmill.

The rest of the week felt mostly like catch up. We did a lot of cleaning, laundry, cooking and reading. Logan has been devouring books since he realized he can read himself chapter books.

Friday night Dave's parents asked if they could babysit (the answer is almost always yes!). So Dave and I hit up Barnes and Noble just to browse for new titles. It's one of my favorite cheap dates. We take pictures of the books that sound good and rent them from the library. I found one of my favorite Sci Fi authors, Marissa Meyer, has a new book out (Renegades). So I picked a comfy chair and got 40 pages in before Dave was done browsing. It sounds great and has been added to my birthday list (as well as to my Library hold list). After we were done in the bookstore we sat in the car for a half hour or so and just talked. Good thing I threw a warm quilt in before hand.

Saturday was full of fun! The boys and I got up early to go to a Mother/Son date to Home Depot. We built  and painted calendars. They have blocks that can be changed for the date and month as well as a pencil holder in the back. Both boys picked out their own colors, hammered in the nails, and attached the number stickers. They are SO proud of their creations. Logan decided his would go in the living room by the computer and Dustin's ended up in the kitchen. Both are happy with their creations!

When Brooklyn woke up from her nap we headed out for our first Family Snow Shoeing trip! We got the boys snow shoes over Christmas break and were so excited to try them out. Logan took to them a lot faster than Dustin but over all it was fun. We realized we should have brought our sleds for the trek down hill, so we have scheduled another trip up to the mountains for this weekend! Since the snow really hasn't come to us this year, we decided we're going to outsource more often. While we were up there it was really foggy and snowing. It was just beautiful and peaceful!

End of Christmas Break

We enjoyed the remainder of our Christmas break! On Wednesday we hit up the zoo for free zoo day. The weather was in the 40's and was just perfect for seeing the animals.

The animals were more active than when we have gone in the summer. The kids were fascinated with them all. The boys thought it was hilarious that the herbivores were all eating Christmas trees. The polar bears were wrestling, the tigers were pacing, and the monkeys were snuggling. 

Since we had gotten in free, when the boys begged for a ride on the carousel we gave in and bought tickets. They had a blast riding their animals.

I realized after we got home the only time the boys wanted to pose for pictures was for statues. They didn't want to be bothered with posing when the animals were running around. The ran from exhibit to exhibit. It was totally exhausting to keep up with them.

One of the nights last week we had a family puzzle night! I got a puzzle of our family for Christmas and the kids had a blast helping us put it together. It was fun to hear them squeal "look, here's Dad's head!" or "which president has the creepy glasses?". It was probably my favorite Christmas Break night.

The Sunday after Christmas Logan's church teachers gave him a gift of pineapple things! He got a cup, a pineapple fruit leather, a cup of pineapple slices. Why? Because he and his church friends Briggs and Michael draw pineapples in all their pictures. So much that their teachers banned them from drawing pineapples! It was all in fun, the boys still insisted to see if they could sneak a pineapple in. Logan has sure loved his teachers this year and will be sad to get new ones next year.

We made a huge breakfast New Years morning and Dave started work on the built in shelf for the basement bathroom. He has wanted to have time to finish it since this summer, and he was glad to get to work on a project.

We read a lot of books, played a lot, and had a lot of fun. But when school started I was ready for the structure of school and work.

Christmas!

Christmas Vacation just FLEW by! We had a ton of fun playing, eating and enjoying family.

My parents and brother came into town Thursday night. Brooklyn and Dustin had a blast making the bed for their overnight stay. Logan put EVERY blanket we own on the bed to make sure they had the most comfie bed. I think he changed the blanket 6 times. Every time he had me take a picture and text it to the Grands to see if they liked that one best.

I like to make something for the kids every year. Home made gifts are my favorite to give because the whole time I'm making them I can think of the person I'm making them for. Brooklyn got a quilt for her baby but it's getting harder to think of things to sew for the boys. So I sewed some winter pillowcases for them. 

Friday we saw Despicable Me 3 at the Dollar Theater with my parents, Mike's family and Sheila's family. The cousins LOVED getting to watch a movie together. After that we headed to Sheila's church for a family dinner and talent show. Everyone brought one sweet and one savory thing. It was tons of food! I think I went home with more food than I brought. The kids had fun preforming, and it was a good night all around.

Saturday we slept in and went swimming with the Grands and my side of the family. My parents had a free hotel night and they thought it would be fun to use it here so we could all enjoy the pool. When we were done swimming we played games in the lobby and ate pizza. It was casual and fun. We headed home for nap time since Brooklyn was exhausted!

That night we headed over to Dave's parent's church for the Plastow family Christmas party. We ate, the cousins played, decorated cookies and we exchanged stocking stuffers. Brooklyn thought she was a big kid and just loved chasing the big kids around the gym. We let them play until a half hour after bed time; she completely wore herself out! I don't think the other cousins have as early a bed time as we do, so we're always the first to have to leave Plastow parties.

Sunday was Christmas Eve. We only had one hour of Church so we got to spend most of the day together. That night Bill and Linda came over for dinner and presents! We usually have them over Christmas eve for cookie decorating, but since we decorated cookies the night before at the family party we changed it up a little (we don't really NEED that many cookies).

The kids got new jammies for Christmas and were so excited! They have been counting down the days until they got new jammies since I measured them in October. They got new ones from both sets of Grandmas and have refused to wear anything else.

Brooklyn then convinced Grandma and Papa to read books to everyone. She LOVES to read. If I ever can't find her I know she's either digging through her books or her brother's.

After the Grands headed home we read the story of Christ's birth in Luke 2 and finished the night off with a few chapters from the Boxcar Children. The kids were so exhausted from all our fun that they fell asleep on the couch before their 8:00 bedtime. 

Christmas day was a fun family day! We all slept in until 8 and opened gifts! Logan and Dustin loved trying out and playing with everything. Brooklyn was just happy to be included in the fun.

All day the boys floated from gift to gift, enjoying everything new they got. They mad a ferris wheel out of Dustin's new Tinker Toys. Logan read his new book Dog Man to Dustin (which he finished reading in less than a day). They just had fun with each other.

Of course they had to sneak in a Science Experiment or two. We enjoyed seeing the reaction Baking Soda and Citric Acid had when mixed with water.

After lunch we headed to the Golf Course to enjoy the fresh snow! Brooklyn LOVED it!!! Every time she sledded down she would squeal with laughter. When we stopped she would clap happily. Then she would whine until someone took her up the hill again.

I think she did the most sledding of all the kids. It was tons of fun to see her enjoy herself so much.

The boys had fun sledding, but they especially enjoyed building things. Snowmen, snow forts, and a stockpiles of snowballs for a major fight!

Dustin lost his favorite hat over all our activities, so he's been wearing one of mine. I need to make him a new special hat, one that fits... but haven't gotten around to it yet. He has no interest in any of our other kids hats.

Dave was in heaven! He loves all things snow, and sledding is one of his favorite parts about winter. 

After sledding we warmed up with hot chocolate then cooled off with snow cones (made out of snow from the back yard). The boys thought that was the best!

For dinner we made egg rolls from my Grandpa Yoder's recipe. Brooklyn enjoyed her first eggroll. She devoured it and demanded a second. And a third.

Brooklyn has been getting into everything lately! If I leave my closet open she pulls all my shirts off their hangers and puts them on herself. She's such a little stinker.

And finally this is the video I made of Logan singing in his school's Christmas Program. He's really grown up a lot over the past year. He used to hate these things, but this year he really hammed it up!

December

This is such a busy time of year! I realized last week I didn't make Christmas cards this year. Oops! Maybe I'll send out two next year. We didn't take a family photo this year either. What can you do?

We decorated for Christmas! I don't think we've decorated for anything since last Christmas so this is a big deal. I made Brooklyn a penguin stocking so Santa can leave us all something this year!

This is why I have given up on decorating... I can never find my decorations. They disappear and reappear in a place that would have looked better. Silly me.

Dustin's hair has become curly over the past few months. He loves it even though he doesn't let me style it for him.

We saw santa at the Ward Hawaiian Christmas Party. Dustin and Brooklyn were terrified. Logan tolerated him long enough to get a pic and tell Santa he would write a letter telling him what was desired for Christmas. We went to Dave's work Christmas party somewhere in there too. They always have good food, and this year wasn't a disappointment. It's nice to visit with Dave's co-workers and friends a few times a year.

Speaking of work friends... Dave's co-worker Edgar invited him to a Foo Fighter concert last week. He was out until about 1 (he said the concert was still going when he left). So after I put the kids down I put together stocking stuffers for our family Christmas Parties and the ladies I visit from church. I had fun, Dave had fun. It was a win.

We've also been to more movies in the past month than in the last year! A few weeks ago Dave's work had an event where they were doing a free dinner and a movie (Justice League). Dave's parents were nice enough to sit, so we got to go on a free date! A few Saturdays ago Dave's Dad's work had a free movie event where the boys got to see Coco with Grandma Linda and Dave, Bill and I went to see the latest Thor movie. Brooklyn was great until the last 15 minutes and I had to take her out. Last weekend my brother Mike's work also had an event (I'm seeing a theme here) where he got 4 tickets to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. So we hired a girl from church to watch the kids so we could see that! Pshew! Movie central with the Plastows.

Now that Brooklyn is running all over the house she thinks she rules the world! She wants to do whatever her brothers are doing! Dressing up, playing duplos, whatever she's there.

I've also been selling knives on Ebay for my Dad. He loves to make them but doesn't love to sell them. So I've been listing and shipping for him. His friend Doug reached out to me to give me tips on how to sell on eBay and remind me what a great Dad I have.

Last year the church I attend launched a program they call Light the World. It's a service oriented program where they give you a scripture each day to remind you of the real reason behind Christmas. This year I haven't followed it as well as I did last year, but I did decide to make a meal for a family in need each week.

I had three picked out prior to starting this, but now looking at the calendar I have 5 meals scheduled for December. It has been great as the boys and I are preparing the meals to think of the family in need and of Christ's birth. I had scheduled to bring a meal to one family the week before and when I texted to verify a time for a drop off the wife was totally unaware the husband had accepted. She said it worked out perfect because husband had surgery that day (I was completely unaware of this) and since she was also recovering and has 5 kids under 6 years old, it was the perfect day for some help. It's awesome to see God nudging us in the right direction if we are willing to be his hands and bless others.

This week we are buckeling down on delivering the last of the treats for our neighbors and getting ready for CHRISTMAS! I think I have all the gifts wrapped (if I would just stop buying them). I bought all the food last Friday so I wouldn't have to enter the store this week if possible. We'll see if I forgot anything. I think we're pretty much ready. We still need to visit Temple Square and see the lights, but other than that we're right on track.

Birthday & Thanksgiving!

We've had a lot of wrestling in the house lately. The boys like to wrestle but lately Dustin has discovered that Brooklyn is fun to wrestle with too! He knows she can't handle tough wrestling so he usually lets her win. When he's is tired he will exclaim "AAH Mom! Boo got me! She's so tough!" And she responds with laughter.

Dustin had his 4th birthday in November!!! For WEEKS leading up to the big day he asked if it was that day. His favorite give was a HUGE teddy bear that might just be bigger than me. He drags it around the house, snuggles with it when we read, and puts it to bed at night. He insists the bear needs his own blanket and animal to snuggle with.

He insisted on a big orange circle cake with lots of sprinkles and I did my best to comply.

...

This month Logan's school did Red Ribbon Week! It's where the kids promise to be drug and bully free. The PTA decided the kids would sign their pledge with paint hand prints. Dustin, Brooklyn and I got to go help the kids with the paint and discourage kids from painting the bathroom walls. They loved it, along with the rest of the week's activities.

Logan's favorite day was either Crazy Hair Day or PJ day. He thought it was pretty cool to go to school with red and blue hair.

Dustin was initially excited to get to do crazy hair too, but after doing his hair, red in the back, orange and yellow on top he got pretty upset. I don't know if he was upset the color didn't show up as well on his brown hair as it did on Logan's strait, if he was sad his hair turned curly with the paint, or what. But his hair lasted all of 2 minutes.

Dustin has had quite a few hilarious lines lately. He's such a crack up!

We're in the waiting room for Dustin's exam and I review what the Dr will be checking out. His response was "Um Mom? I'm not wearing underwear. Do you think the Dr will be embarrassed?" Sigh! 

Dustin pointing asks "What's in that Ladie's shirt?!?" Me: She's pregnant, so a baby. Do you remember when Brooklyn was in my belly? (Brooklyn lifts up her shirt and points to her belly) Dustin responds "You never looked like THAT." Me: yes I did, but the Dr took the baby out so I don't look like that now. Dustin asks "did it hurt?" Me: Yes, but it doesn't hurt now. Dustin exclaims "POOR MOM!"

A few nights ago we were eating asparagus with dinner and I commented that my Mom doesn't like it. Dustin exclaims "What is wrong with Grandma? Even the baby likes asparagus!!!" To which Logan responds "What is wrong with all these Plastows? I prefer licorice."

Last week we got to go on a work date night! One of the companies Dave's company works with was doing dinner and a movie (Justice League) so we asked Grandma Linda to babysit so we could go. They also provided popcorn and drinks. It was a nice break. We haven't gone on a date away from the kids in a while (besides the temple a few weeks ago) so it was really nice to get out and relax!

They also had gift bags for the kids that attended. It was a reusable Super Hero bag full of Pez dispensers, super hero masks, necklaces, rings, bouncy balls, stickers and all kinds of other fun stuff. Of course we grabbed one for each boy!

I've been working on Christmas gifts!!! Last week I finished a baby blanket for Brooklyn's baby doll. This might look big from the pic, but the squares are 1.5 inches. They're so tiny but SOOO cute! I've got this and a set of magic bottles (the ones that look like the milk and juice is being drunk) for her. I've bought all her gifts for Christmas already, but this is the one I'm most excited to give her! And all it cost was my time. The material was all scraps from old jammies my Mom, Granmda Yoder, or I have made.

Last Wednesday we got a new mattress! I've been having hip & muscle pains since I was pregnant with Brooklyn. I always get them when pregnant but this time they haven't gone away! The bed hasn't cured me but since getting this bed I've actually been able to sleep. I used to be up tossing and turning a few times a week because it hurt so bad. Now it hurts when I lay down, but doesn't hurt after a while and I can sleep! So big win there. It was on early Black Friday sale so we got it $100 off plus free pillows!

Thanksgiving was last weekend and we enjoyed our time off. Logan had a whole day of school Monday and a half day Tuesday. So he was home to help Dustin and I prepare for the big day. We made rolls and mashed potatoes to bring to Dave's family for dinner. Logan requested we make a pie just for our family because "we always have pie at Thanksgiving but we never have any to bring home for leftovers!" So we made him a pie.

Brooklyn loves hiding in boxes! She thinks we can't see her

We did a little Black Friday shopping, but mostly on the computer. I braved Walmart for half off socks & underwear for the boys. Because those are NEVER on sale. Dave and I also ordered new cell phones online. They were 80% off. Ours have been dieing for at least a year (I can't remember when we got them). He can't call me for some reason and both of us can't recieve group texts most of the time. I've also had problems sending picture texts lately. Also both of our screens are cracked. I wasn't planning on buying new ones (the old ones still worked) but when I saw I could get us both new ones for less than half of one normally, I was sold.

We've also been posting the pile of stuff we've been meaning to sell online. Like an old TV, old watch, movies. All kinds of things we don't use but think someone might want. So far we've sold 5 of the items.

Brooklyn has taught herself to open the childproof lock for under the kitchen sink. I thought it was Dustin opening the cabinet (he only recently learned how to get in) and hiding the locking device. But after putting it back on for the third time yesterday I stayed in the kitchen reading and watched her do it!!! So I had to install the permeant locks that I have on the drawers. Little punk.

This week I've worked 2 hours a day and the great part about working is I can work on a project while I wait for someone to answer the phone. Yesterday I drafted, and cut out this dress for Brooklyn for Christmas! Last night Dave was exhausted and fell asleep at 9 so I stayed up and sewed it together too! So a dress in a day.

It turned out pretty cute for a "what's in my stash that might make a cute Christmas Dress?" I even had the maroon zipper in my bag of a million zippers! As soon as I put this dress on her and sat her down to take a picture she jumped up and took off zombie running! So I now have about 20 pictures of her running away from me laughing at me.

So imagine this on a baby. It turned out really cute!

Dustin has also been practicing like crazy for a musical performance he plans to do With Papa Mike. This is his best jam session