~The Long Road Home~

After my Circle of Sisters reunion I spent another week with my mom in Utah while Nick flew back to reality in Iowa.  We had fun, relaxing, playing and spending quality time with my parents.  My darling Aunt Bonnie graciously offered to drive back to Iowa with me at the end of the week.  She was sooo helpful and thought almost everything Cordy did was adorable.  :-) 

This is how we roadtrip... water bottles, snacks, pillows, DVD players and lovies.  My kids have it soooo good. 

We even made a stop at McDonalds for the munchkins to get out and play at the play area and eat nasty chicken nuggets.  I'm never that nice when I'm road-tripping alone.  (The first day Grandma Shannon and Grandpa Steve were with us so they could visit Grandma Joan for the weekend in Colorado.)

Vanilla Coke in a bottle... wish I could find the stuff in Iowa!  I rarely drink pop, but this is the stuff that keeps me going on a road trip.

When we finally made it home to Iowa on the second day the kids were soooo happy to see Nick.  Bonnie was exhausted and I was ready to sleep for days.  Thank goodness Nick was there to bath munchkins and help unload the car.   

Bonnie was such a huge help the entire way home.  She bought us treats, made fun of the Wyoming and Nebraska "scenery" with me, told me stories, handed out snacks, entertained little people, and made me laugh.  It was great!  Thanks Bonnie!

~Front Yard Afternoons~

I think our little house looks so lovely with our front tree in full bloom.  This is the time of year where we spend most of our days out front.  

I look at this picture and see so much personality, and all very unique from one another. They are so ridiculously lucky to have each other. I feel pretty lucky to be their mama.

No fairytale rain yet, but we are still enjoying the front yard.

This is her grumpy bully face, very representative of her personality right now. Good thing she's so cute!

Look at those pointed toes! He got air!

This has to be one of my favorite times of the year in Iowa. 

~Hats~

Grandma Shannon sent a package with some fun valentine supplies and these fabulous hats that totally made our day (and possibly my month). I introduce to you Cordy the Communist.

 That little russian hat on her head cracks me up!  I can just see Cordy as the next communist regime dictator.  Hehehehe!

These two little cougars have had a blast with this hat.  

Go BYU! 

~Magnetiles~

The most played with toy out of everything my kids received for Christmas this year has been these Magnatiles.  My sister searched wide and far and they have been well worth her efforts.  Multiple times a day my kids pull these amazing tiles out and build all sorts of creations with them. My very favorite times are when they work together to build hotels, castles, or magnificent towers all on their own.  Then they come and find me to show off their latest creation.   

I am in awe at their amazing creations.  They usually have little people or action figures inside, and sometimes they purposely leave opening to use as doors.  

Once they build a giant hotel with a breakfast area, pool area, and a tower for the rooms.  They covered it with their little "wonders of the world" statues and it looked like something out of Vegas.  Too bad Cordy came along and knocked it down before I could get a picture.  
Cordy also likes to play with the Magnatiles, as long as she can be Godzilla.  Sometimes we have to designate a time for her to have a turn, and everyone who wants to build must do so with the understanding that she is allowed to knock it down at any time.  Other times I let the kids take them into a room and shut the door to keep Cordy out.  We try to make sure everyone gets a turn.  
Thank you, Erin and Ryan,
for the hours and hours of entertainment provided by this fabulous toy.
You know it's a good toy when even the parents pull them out to play after the kids go to bed. :-)

~Last Daddy Lunch at the Park~

We found an awesome park up by Nick's work where we love to eat lunch and play over his lunch break during the warm months.  We haven't been meeting up with him as often and I would like to this fall, but we had a warm day at the end of October that I just couldn't pass up, so we called him up and headed over after preschool for some fun.

 We long ago named these rocking horses Golden, Mocha, Negro, and Blondie.  The kids love it when we all climb on.  

 The leaves at this park have been stunning every year, and this year was no exception.

When it was time for Nick to go back to work, the kids and I loaded up and headed to another park for an hour, soaking up all the warm sunshine we could before the real cold sets in.  Then we had to run home for bathroom breaks.  The parks here all have restrooms, but they were closed for the season.  Too bad.  

Can't wait until we get to go back and play in the Spring!

~October in Pictures... and few words~

Well, it's mid-November and I'm still playing catch up on the blog, but not for long.  Here is a basic summary of our every day October life in pictures.

These three spent lots of time healthy, happy, and outside.

She ate a lot of dirt.

 We practiced our jumping skills... 

and my stop action photography skills for my photography class.

We played in a lot of leaves....

 

Alec continued to pump on the swing to higher and higher heights.

 We rode bikes on the driveway a lot.  Lyssa showed off her pedaling, steering and breaking skills she worked so hard on this summer. 

I worked on my panning action photography skills.

Lyssa continued to dominate as the ruling Diva of the house.  Who doesn't love all that rockstar personality?

Alec discovered the damper pedal and took up playing the piano. A lot. All while making silly faces. 

 I worked on my showing action photography skills.

Oh!  And I finally washed the van all by myself (with the help of a ladder) after months of nasty mud, and filth from our camping trips.

The kids enjoyed weekend mornings when they didn't have to be dressed and out the door by 9AM.

The continued to be healthy and happy and wear as little clothing as possible whenever possible. 

Happy little miss Cordy continued to grow a rocking mullet until her dad buzzed it off.

Cordy also decided that her Daddy is her first love, and favorite person.  I think it's safe to say he's pretty fond of her too.

These two also continued to be the best of friends, making each other laugh,  playing games of pretend together for hours on end, and fighting only like siblings and best friends can.

 In the mix of it all were flu shots, school days, lots of costume dress up days, photography sessions for clients, game nights, date nights, pizza nights, Nick's last semester of graduate school and much Halloween merry making.... more on that another day.

~Camping~

This Fall we went camping three separate times and each time we had a blast (and I forgot my camera)!  Our stake has a campground about 40 minutes away that we can camp at for free, with fire-pits, bathrooms, and lots of free firewood.  It's set in a nice woods area and it makes for perfect family camping.  Each time we went with friends and had a blast, despite the chilly weather the last two times.  It got down to around 40 degrees some nights which made it hard for Cordy to be comfortable, but we worked it out and had fun.

There are cabins at the campground that are built up on stilts that the kids used as "Magic Tree Houses" and they played Jack and Annie with their friends going on adventures all around the world.  It made me so happy to see their love for books come out in their play.

We also discovered the amazing tree swing on the campground property that sends you out over a little stream bed.  The kids were all brave enough to try it and I was sure to get a turn or two.  It's so fun!  You feel like you're flying through the woods.  It's probably the closest to flying I've ever come besides zip-lining through the jungle.  Awesome.

The last night we went camping we had a great group of friends with us all gathered around the fire.   The kids kept finding fallen chestnuts all over and called them "Moldy Mangos" because they were yellow like the mangos that we like to buy, but also had black gross spots all over them.  All the sudden I got smacked really hard in the head with something that felt like a rock.  It hurt soooo bad and gave me quite the headache.  We realized it was a chestnut that had fallen from the trees high above.  No wonder it felt like a rock!  My friends were kind and told me it was okay to cry and gave me tylenol, but not before someone took a picture of my bandana on my head.  Can you believe we went camping three times and I didn't take a single picture?  I'll have to see if I can get some from friends to add to this post someday.

We had a blast camping this year, roasting giant marshmallows, star gazing, and having a good laugh with friends around the fire.  I can't wait until it warms up in the Spring so we can go again!

~What do you do in the summertime...~

When all the world is green?

(I love almost everything about this picture.)

 Mr. Alec has taken up spending hours on the swing in the backyard now that he has learned to pump.  It's so fun watching him make himself go oooooh soooo high, smiling to himself, happy in his thoughts.  Amazing to think that not that long ago I was introducing the baby swing to him, spending hours on end pushing him high into the sky.  Now he does it all himself. 

 Cordy loves being outside in the yard.  She loves to pull up all the grass and tries to sample everything in sight.  She's pretty fast and I'm not as vigilant as I probably should be so she's already tried dirt, grass, weeds, sticks, rocks, and tree bark.  Grass still seems to be her favorite.  (Silly Cordy!  It's yucky!)

 These three also spend a great deal of their summertime entertaining each other.  Alec and Elyssa are the best of friends (and frienemies), and Cordy can do no wrong in their eyes about 98% of the time.  They all like to make each other laugh and be silly.  Add it all up and most of the time it equals a goofy fun time for all.

 We sure love summer!

~Storytime~

Alec may not be able to read yet...  

 but that doesn't stop him from "reading" stories to his sisters.  

(Like Kid Tea by Elizabeth Ficocelli.  It's one of our very favorites.  Thanks Grandma, for finding in in Board Book form.  We love it!)

Elyssa and Cordy are so lucky to have him.  

What a cool big brother.

~Kiddos~

We apologize for the lengthy Costa Rica interruption.  Now back to our regular programming.....

Big Brother and Big Sister

Baby Sister

Silly sisters.

 They all look like siblings, but definately come with their own unique individual personality. 

 I sure think they're pretty cute, and quite funny.

Which is how it should be.  After all, I am their mother.

I'm so lucky. :-)

~Motherhood Moments~

The joy of motherhood comes in moments... moments like this.

Some days are really REALLY hard.  Some days are just long. Then there are those amazing days (or more commonly moments) where I am surrounded by my three beautiful children and can't help but feel overwhelmed by the joy and love that I feel for my little ones.  Cuddles on the couch, kisses blown after tucking kids in bed at night, kitchen dance parties, tickle wars, stories times... the list goes on.  

I live a crazy beautiful life!  

I never want to forget the laughing, the smiles, the inside jokes because as my mom has said 

"Precious and few are the moments..."  

~Cordelia at 5 Months~

I love those Baby Blues!  They look so much liker her Daddy's eyes, so beautiful, so clear, so blue...

January 31st Cordelia officially turned 5 months.  

Every time I see that sweet smile I can't help but fall in love with this little lady a bit more.  

This little piggy hat cracks me up.  I love love love it!  It's on the big side so it's sure to make appearances on this blog many times in the future.  

I have a fabulous idea of a "This little Piggy" post someday.  :-)

At 5 months Cordelia's little body is perfect and sturdy.  When I hold her I just want to squeeze all that soft baby, holding her oh so tight.  I can't help but kiss those cheeks a million times a day or dig my nose into that snug little neck and make her giggle.  

I'm not the only one absolutely in love with little Miss Cordelia.  The second I pull out the camera to take pictures of her Lyssa and Alec come running to snuggle up and love on her too.  These two sisters sure do love each other.

Dearest Cordelia,

 Thanks for being the sweetest baby around.   You are the best snuggler on these cold January days.  Thanks for always keeping us warm!  We can't imagine life without you.  You help make our family feel more complete.  We love you.  You love us.  We are a happy family. 

Love always and forever,

Your Mommy