Haircut Facade!

It amazes me how a haircut can change a child so much! It's crazy the difference! He looks so much older now!

Nolan on 3/5/09


1 week later after a haircut!

Our never-ending vacation 2009!

At Sea World

We have been so busy since the last time I posted. Mid March me and the kids headed to California to visit my Sis-in-Law. My brother is deployed and Joe was supposed to be in ALS so it was going to work out perfectly. Well, come to find out, Joe was told the wrong date for ALS and he actually wasn't scheduled to go until the following month. I already had tickets and I wasn't going to change my trip. So, after 2 weeks into my trip, he came out to join us. We traveled all over California once he got there. We went down to stay with his Aunt for a week. She lives in between San Diego and L.A. It was so fun to be around so much to do! We went to Sea World with the kids this time. Joe and I went last year and it was a lot of fun so we thought we would share it with our kids this year! We're so nice aren't we! The kids didn't like Shamu splashing them. The weather was a little cool to be getting splashed

Lauren wasn't sure whether to smile or cry after Shamu splashed us!

Nolan was so shocked we would do that to him!



by 52 degree water! We all dried and enjoyed the rest of our day there. The next day we went to Disneyland. It was hard to go with such young kids. It's hard to have a stroller we figured out b/c you can't take strollers in line with you....and there are lines for everything! The second day, we met Joe's brother and his family there. That second day we a lot more fun for us. It was very chilly, but it seemed like we were able to go on a lot more rides with more adults around. We decided to tackle the never-ending princess line first that day. It really wasn't too bad. Lauren was shy at first, but warmed up towards the end. We met Snow White, Aurora, and Pocohantas. She really didn't know who Pocohantas was, but that gives us another movie to introduce her to. We met Mickey afterwards. Nolan enjoyed playing with his big nose! That line actually wasn't too bad. Lauren went on a couple roller coasters. As you'll see on the pictures she loved them! Both Joe and I get really motion sick on rides so we always flip a coin to see who has to go on the rides with her! We both ended up getting a little sick by the end of the night! I hate rides! I don't know how we used to do it as kids. I remember loving the feeling when I was dizzy! So weird how our equilibrium changes as we get older!






Told you Lauren loved the roller coasters!

The oh so famous Mickey Mouse!

Snow White loved Joe's idea to bring the apple! Lauren was very shy with the princesses!

We had one more day to go to Disney, but we were so tired that we decided not to go back this trip! We decided that we will not be back until Lauren is about 8-10 years old! That will make our other kids old/tall enough to ride all the rides and to walk by themselves! The last couple days of our trip we just relaxed. We needed it after 3 days of theme parks! I think our favorite part of our vacation was the beach! We traveled down the coast on hwy 1 and saw some amazing views! As we traveled down by Tori Pines Golf Coarse ( I guess the US Open was held there last year...so my dad tells me), Lauren said something so funny! I was telling my dad on the phone that we just went to Tori Pines and Lauren overheard me say that and said said,"No mommy, Lauren Pines!" It was so funny b/c her cousin that we had been staying with is named Tori and she thought that we were using her name. I dont know if you were there it would have been more funny! The kids did so great on this entire trip. I will admit the beginning of our trip was rough. Me traveling alone all day with 2 kids and one shrinking lap with a baby on the way was a challenge! Nauseous and all, I made it through 2 connections and 10 hours of traveling on airlines! Never again though!!!!! The way home was so much better with Joe helping! I feel like Im leaving so much out, but I feel like we did so much that it's impossible to tell about everything! I feel very satisfied with this year's family vacation. Even though it wasn't planned, we are counting it for the year! Early in our marriage we decided that family vacations were important to us. We have done a good job so far at keeping our word to ourselves. Next year I think we are headed back to Florida. We really enjoyed that trip a lot. We would like to take the kids this time. They loved the beach so much. We would love to live near a beach someday!


Nolan kept resisting the hand-holding, but it still turned out cute!

Courtesy of Dan Capel

Lauren and Daddy building sand castles

It was so cool to see a live star fish!




Nolan loved pushing this truck around!

Snow in March

Okay so it was February when we got the 3-4 inches of snow, but it was still a surprise! Our weather has been so weird and indecicive. One day its 20 degress (like today) and here in a couple days it is supposed to be 70 degrees. It's been like this all winter. I can't complain about the warm days because usually it is cold all through March and most of April. It's just getting me so excited for spring! Im ready for the kids to be able to go play outside and for yard sales to start! I love to go hunting at yard sales! I don't always buy stuff, but for some reason get joy out of looking through people's junk! On base, the junk is nicer for some reason too! I rarely yard sale off base for that reason!

Back to my topic! The other day I took the kids outside to enjoy the (hopefully) last snowfall of the year. I bundled all 3 of us up and took the kids outside. We have a slight hill in the backyard perfect for kid sledding. It's just the right slope that it doesn't go too fast for them. We all went down a few times. Nolan loved it. Lauren figured out how to stop really quick! She would put her little feet outside the sled when she knew she was going too fast or when she was going to hit something. Nolan fell some trying to walk in the thick snow. He didn't enjoy the cold hands that came with the falls. He kept taking his gloves off. It was a really fun 30 min. Im glad I put the energy into it. Afterwards we came inside for some hot cocoa. Lauren made it and it was perfect!

Hidden treasures

Last night as I was helping Lauren put her pajamas on she said something that caught my attention. She kept inhaling like she has a runny nose over and over again. She told me, "I thint I have a wot in my nose." (interpretation: I think I have a rock in my nose.) I looked up her nose, I even pinched it to see if I could feel anything. NOTHING! Shortly after I pinched it, she sneezed! Sure enough, a rock along with some nasty snot came out! Where did she get the rock to put in her nose, I have no clue. When did she do it and why the heck why? I am very glad that she is okay and that she was able to communicate that to me. I will have to keep my eye on her from now on. I hope she has learned her lesson. She looked really scared when she sneezed that out! I took a couple pictures, but they were'nt very good.

Fun Weather!

We have had some really nice weather lately (except for the snow flurries we had this morning!). The other day we took a nice afternoon stroll. We had a few extra kids, but it made it more fun! We ran, explored, and played! The kids all loved it! Thank goodness for the double stroller! I don't know how mom's make it without one! I love it and would highly recommend it to anyone having young children all in a row! Here are a few fun pictures of our afternoon playtime!

My growing baby

Last week Lauren started preschool. I can't believe how much my baby has grown up. I could tell she was ready to get out of the house because she always seemed bored. I hated to see her watch tv all day long. It's not something Im proud of, but the tv is such a good babysitter sometimes. I'm sure everyone at some point has fallen guilty of that!

Lauren goes to school twice a week for just a few hours each morning. She loves it! Everytime I pick her up she is glowing from ear to ear! She says she has new friends! She gets so tired of me asking her what she did! She always tells me, "Mom, I already told you that!" It's hard not being able to see exactly what she does when she's there! I wish I could stick a camera in her backpack so I could watch! I am so excited that we enrolled her. Because of her birthday she will be in preschool for 2 more years. This fall when she turns 4, she will be starting classes 3 days a week.

Since she has started school, I have been really busy during the week. This time of the year is always more busy for Joe at work meaning he has to work more weekends and later hours. He too is taking 1 online class. I am in a math class on Mon. and Wed. nights. And Lauren has school and dance. That takes up about every day of the week for us. I think I am beginning to feel better which will be a nice change. I have felt so tired and sick lately. I am still tired, but the sickness is starting to fade. Such a relief!

January 2009

On our IN date!

Well I have been getting hounded to put a new post up for quite some time now. I just haven't felt like much new has happened since my last post so therefore didn't have anything to report! I even stated to one of my hounding friends, "what do you want me to do, take a picture of my messy house and blog about it!" She laughed, but for some reason I feel like I am just lying around and getting nothing accomplished. I am very fortunate that I do not get naseous during my first trimester. I do feel yucky, but no puking! I really am so thankful for that! I don't know how all you moms do it out there. I would have been done already if I had to go through that! Im not even joking!


Lauren had a fever for a few days. She threw up once, but threatened many many times!

Nolan loves tv!

After looking through the pictures for the month I did find a few that were post worthy. We took a short trip to IN a couple weeks ago. For those of you that don't know, my dad had open heart surgery. He went to get a heart scan just because he was curious how it was doing and the doctors found it that he had already suffered a minor heart attack and that he could not wait any longer to get bypass surgery. Within a week he was on the operating table. We were so glad that they found it in time, but it did put a damper on our prearranged cruise. My parents were our babysitters. eek! My sister and her husband were going with us, so they were out on the fun as well! When the week came around for us to go it was tough! We were in - degree weather when we should have been on an island with 80 degree weather. A bit diappointing, but we realize what is more important! Gosh we are so selfless! Im just kidding. All joking aside we are so blessed to have found out about his condition in time before it became worse. He had 6 bypasses which is the max he could have gotten. I am not quite sure how you can mess you heart up that bad, but my dad does like his red meat! He is just lucky that he isn't overweight on top of it. He just has to be more health concious. He is recovering perfectly. His whole recovery was simply perfect from what the nurses and doctors said.

On the way to IN

And another on the way!

So getting back to why we went to IN. We went to visit my dad after he got home and was feeling a little better. He looked great! I wouldnt have even been able to tell if I just looked at him. He had lost some weight, but that will come back on as soon as he starts eating more. Our trip out the IN was so nice. We enjoyed a couple nights with my sister and her husband as well as a few with my mom and dad. The kids love being at Grandma and Grandpas! Grandma and Grandpa love it too! They too enjoyed out surprise visit!

These two are so funny to watch. Zach and Lauren are inseparable when they are together

Happy 26th Birthday Shawna! Love you!

Also me and Joe are classes. We are both in just 1 each actually. I am so glad I chose to only take one, espcially since I haven't been feeling well. It's math too so that's almost like taking 2 anyways! I have to work so hard in math classes! Im ready to be done with it! I should be doing that now actually! Joe is taking a class online called American/National Government. I just took it last semester so I knew it would be pretty easy for him. He was going to use my book as well, but when the class started it disappeared! I have no idea where it is! We have searched everywhere! Oh well, I never cracked it when I took the class so he can get by without it too! The instructor puts notes online and thats why he tests on. It worked out. Well I need to catch up on all the things I slacked on this week. There is lots too! It's bad! But no you are not getting a picture of my messy house!...it's too embarrassing!

Expecting Again!

Not my favorite picture, but it serves it's purpose! Oh and you can barely read it, but that my friends reads "pregnant!"

Okay well I was debating on whether or not to post this, but then I decided this would just get the news out a lot faster! We found out last night that we are expecting baby number 3! Yes I am extremely fertile I suppose! I am very grateful to have this gift (if that's what you wanna call it)! According to my dates the baby will be due Sept. 14th! So now we will have an Aug., Sept, and Oct. baby! I am 4 weeks along even though I know I haven't been pregnant that long! That's just how they determine your weeks is by the first day of your last period! I was sure to write that date down so that when they ask me 20 million times at my appointments, I will know! I didn't know my date with Lauren and they treated me like I was a fool! We are very excited for this baby! Joe wants a girl and I want a boy! Maybe we'll get both! Haha! Joe nor I really care what it is actually...we are just excited!

Christmas 2008

Us all in our new pajamas!

Reading from Luke about the birth of our Savior

Lauren putting out the reindeer food!

After Santa came!

Lauren and Nolan love Daddy's new pull-up bar!

The first picture of the morning!

Nolans eyes lit up when he saw the football!

The scroll inside the tree is for me! It was tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera this spring!

Grandma and Grandpa send the kids matching ornaments each year with their names on them

Okay so yes this is so long overdue, but I am just now getting around to blogging. I go through moods where I love to blog and then some like I just went through where I just put it off! We had an excellent Christmas. We got the tree put up a little later than most years, but I held out until Joe got home on the 5th of December. On Christmas Eve we just stayed home as a family and read the Christmas story in Luke by candlelight (there were actually lights on, but the candles were lit!...it counts!) and then enjoyed some wonderful fat free hors d'oeurves (yeah right!). We opened our pajamas so we could wear them to bed and have them on for Christmas morning. Nolan stayed up later than normal, but couldn't hold on any longer before he crashed around 9:30. Lauren, Joe and I went outside to put the reindeer food out in the yard. Our reindeer food consisted of old carrots I was going to throw away anyways mixed with glitter! They loved it. Every piece was gone when we checked in the morning! I guess we decided Santa was on a diet this year because we all went to bed and forgot to leave him cookies! I think he will survive! We also stayed home alone as a family for Christmas Day. We were just so happy to all be together for the holidays. It was so nice to sit around my our pajamas all day long and do whatever we felt like. I cooked most of the morning and into the afternoon and I actually dont know what anyone else did because I didn't leave the kitchen but maybe one time to use the restroom! I do know that Joe took care of the kids for those few hours! Things were fun! I love the warm feeling of Christmas. I spent a lot of time this year thinking of those less fortunate than us, that don't have a warm home to spend the holidays in. We are so truely blessed to have the simple things in life! I am so grateful!

Go Colts!

Mischief and fun!

Nolan got caught red handed! It was time for dinner and Nolan was nowhere to be found. Usually when he is quiet, he's into something! Joe found him as he was passing the basement stairs. He told me to come look quickly! Up Nolan came crawling with and empty case of bubble tape and a mouth full of gum he had no idea what to do with!....He just knew it was yummy! This kid makes me laugh so much with all his mischief! What will he do next?

I made Lauren a shirt I guess you could call it with a paper bag. After placing it over her head she said, "Mommy make me pants!" She settled for a skirt! Here she is posing for the camera!

I have some good little helpers in the kitchen!

Our Christmas Tree

Finally we got our tree up. I was putting the project off because of Nolan and because Joe wasn't here. It's not very fun to put up decorations without help to make it fun. We actually put the tree up without any type of argument this year. What a miracle! Our arugument usually comes about when we can't get the tree to sit just how I want it! (Not lopsided!) It is a little slanted this year still, but I just don't care as much this year. I have realized we have a nice tree and that I need to quit complaining that I want a bigger and better tree. I really am grateful for what I have. I think sometimes me and I'm sure others out there get so wrapped up into what everyone else has vs. the things we already have. I sometimes have a big problem with this. I am learning that there are probably a lot of things that I have the other people want. I don't need to mention any of them, but I know that it's true. Not just material things, but more important things as well. I will say it again. I am grateful for what I have and am very blessed at this time of year to have a healthy and eternal family that loves me.

I put the tree skirt on and turned around to see that Lauren had the stockings on her feet!

Joe shaping the branches

Our darlings!

They had fun in the Christmas tree tote!

Mommy and Lauren

Not sure where Nolan was



One of our outtakes!

Happy in love!