Another month (or so) has come and gone… and of course my blogging has been non-existent! So here we go again… another marathon post of all that we’ve been up to… and it feels like its been a lot!

My Birthday

Micah and the kids and family spoiled me this year, as they do each year for my birthday. I felt so loved. I talked Micah into coming to my 5:15 AM spin class for my birthday ride – it was fun/funny and we had a great time. Thanks to Michelle for offering to come stay with our kids that early in the morning, that was beyond nice! She’s usually at the class, but because she was running a half marathon that Saturday, that Thursday was one of her rest days. We picked up Einstein Bagels on the way home from the class, Yum, yum! Micah gave me the cutest and greatest purple bike.  Its comfortable like a beach cruiser, but  light weight and  has gears and is incredibly easy to ride. Not very many places have bike racks anymore, I keep trying to run all my errands on my bike because I love it so much. My sisters gave me a gift card to take a class at Sur la table – now I just have to decide on ONE class to take, they all look amazing!  Michelle also gave me a cute beverage dispenser and we’ve used it all month! I also received cards and money from parents/in laws. Thank you all so much! Most significant this year was that I received a birthday call from Mama and Papa, as they do every year, to sing me happy birthday – a very special memory for me now. Papa’s voice was hoarse and Mama told me he was worried about it, but his love and kindness were expressed as sweetly as ever as was Mama’s. This was just two days before he passed away. I love Mama and Papa and I miss Papa. What a special gift they gave me this year.

Rachelle’s Birthday

Chelle had been excited all month about her birthday! She is darling. She wanted a pink cake with a tiara on top of it that she had seen in a recipe book she chose at Deseret Book, but then at the last minute she chose another cake we saw on Pinterest when Lacey and I were looking at cakes for her birthday.

So we did the new cake, and she hasn’t stopped asking me when I’m going to make her cake. She didn’t want a white cake, she wanted a pink cake!!!

She loved all the little presents she got and so did Lacey. They especially love the magnetic paper dolls from Grandma. Good thing Rachelle is pretty good at sharing. Micah took Chelle to her choice of breakfast, McDonald’s. Each child loves the time with Micah… especially since we never go out for breakfast. We went to Lori’s on her b-day to celebrate my and her birthday and my Dad’s birthday and she was so happy that everyone came to celebrate her. The things that topped it off were that everyone sang happy birthday to her and watched her blow out the candles, and Lincoln and Krista brought a little gift for her to open – a cute Minnie Mouse Camera. It made for a great birthday celebration. She just told me today that she wants her next birthday to be at Lori’s too. Rachelle is kind and loving. She tells people she loves them and makes people feel happy. She is usually a peacemaker, and hates to see others unhappy. She is so cute and has the cutest little voice with which she speaks so well. She is a big 3 year old!

Lacey’s Birthday

Lacey was well prepared for her birthday – she had waited and waited through two other birthdays for her turn! She wanted a “My Little Pony” cake. We looked at some online and then decided what we would do. She was SO happy with her cake!

She was thrilled to be the birthday girl! Lacey’s birthday falls during our Spring Break most years, so we were able to have her party on her actual birth day and celebrate all week She went to breakfast with Micah that morning, again to McDonald’s. Then we opened presents and played all day.

Then we met Anna at the mall to get Lacey’s and Anna’s ears pierced. 

I knew it may not go well, but she walked in fearlessly even after I told her that it hurt and that it was just like a shot. She and Anna helped each other to go through with it. Lacey went first and wasn’t sure what to expect. Right after it happened she started crying and was a little mad. Anna still got up in the chair and went through with it. I was so impressed. Not too many tears and they are both happy they have them now! After that experience, we came back and got ready for Lacey’s party. We had invited just 4 girls (Anna, Hannah, Anna S. from church, and Mabry from school), and they had a great time roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.

We made these cups that glowed in the dark, but it didn’t work as well as I thought.Then we came in and had cake and ice cream and they played ponies for a few minutes as all were leaving. Anna stayed for a later night watching “Princess and the Popstar”. It was a perfect day in Lacey’s book!  She loves to celebrate and play and have friends over. She is fun, fun, fun all the time! She giggles and laughs and is always doing something goofy! Not too long ago she told me she doesn’t want to be a mom, because being a mom is boring Moms always have to tell kids what to do and stuff. I told her I may be a boring mom but she could be a fun mom! I guess I better step it up a little. Lacey loves movies, she’s in gymnastics right now and is learning so many great things. She loves preschool but is a little nervous for Kindergarten. Lacey is very loving.

Jackson’s Birthday

We had a great time for Jackson’s birthday. We celebrated the Saturday before his birthday because his birthday fell on a Monday this year. We invited his best buddies (DJ, Price, Brandon, Nash, Max, Marie, Jaidyn S, Collin F., George P. – friends from school ) and a few of his friends weren’t able to make it (I thought it may turn out that way, I don’t know their Mom’s very well yet). We played the candy bar game with them as guests were arriving, this time with small pieces of candy and bags to take them home in (I’m getting smarter each year).

We again roasted hot dogs and smores and had cake and ice cream. We had so much fun – this was an active group compared to Lacey’s party. They were playing tag and other games the entire time. They would roast their hot dogs or marshmallows then go play for a while, then come back and roast a little more. They were so funny and good to each other though and made Jackson’s b-day party great. Then we came in and had some cake and ice cream. Each one of them wanted to have one of the characters from the cake.

On Monday, Jackson went to breakfast with Micah at Jack in the Box. He opened his presents and loved his skylander giants things from us and grandma. He got his own set of nice scriptures and a cool football case which he treasures. He was so excited.  I got to come to lunch and sit outside with him and a few friends, then he asked me to bring popsicles for everyone in his class. I did, but the teacher’s freezer didn’t work too well, so that ended up being a mess. Oh well! We love Jackson – he is a good brother and friend. He loves to have fun and play any kind of sport. He doesn’t care whether he wins or loses. Well actually he loves to win, but doesn’t mind losing as long as he gets to play. He doesn’t really love school, but he has a great teacher and he puts up with the rest of it so he can have some time to play at recess. He’s been into tether ball this year and of course he loves to play football at recess. He is very smart especially when its a subject he’s interested in. He thinks outside the box and asks why a lot more than I ever remember asking as a child. He tests boundaries and makes sure we are keeping our ground We started reading the Book of Mormon with him one on one this year to prepare for his baptism next year. He is growing up fast… really fast.

Whew! Another birthday month come and gone. What a month!

I’ve entered several posts tonight, so keep scrolling! Some were actually written before Christmas, but we were having picture problems yet again. I think we may have it figured out now at least until we change it again.

Well, its official – we are dog owners now. We adopted our dog last week from an older couple who had gotten it for their grand daughter who was living with them. We have been looking on craigslist for a while now for a great dog. We found one that we really wanted, and couldn’t make it to her before she was sold. The next one we went and met, and was cute but so jumpy and rowdy. When we walked away from that dog lacey was so upset. She yelled, ‘Let’s buy HIM! I want to buy him!!!” I was a little embarrassed about how spoiled she sounded, but we talked about that later. It made the situation a little awkward and very funny in hindsight. We met another dog, and he was fun and could do some fun tricks, but was not my favorite looking dog. I thought I could live with him because he had been in a house with kids and seemed pretty well trained. The people said they would call us back because they had a few families that wanted him. Well, turned out that we didn’t qualify to have him (which I was a little relieved about .

The dog we ended up adopting is about 2 years old, spayed, house trained, and very calm and kind to the kids. She listens well and must have been trained at least a little because she sits when we tell her to, is overall very obedient, is pretty good about going to her crate at night,  has not run out the door or even acted like she would, very gentle,  and is just a very nice little dog. The only thing we need to work on is a bit of barking when people come in the door. The previous owners had named her “Baby” which wasn’t our favorite. After considering Lady, Daisy, Mele, Muffy, and several other names,on a whim we came up with Sparkle (because we had painted Rachelle and Lacey’s nails with Sparkles) and Sparkle was the only name that everyone liked (although Chelle tells me she wants to call her Baby Sparkle now and Micah wasn’t the biggest fan at first). She has gotten more playful as she’s gotten more comfortable and we are loving her.

Christmas is the best! I love it. I’m just going to include several pictures and let them tell most of  the story. Lacey’s Preschool Christmas program, Chelle was “Mary” this year in the little nativity,  Pajamas from cousins (very late thank you’s to Gabby, Caleb, Tristan, and Brielle) and pajamas from Mamama. We badly needed pajamas and they are all worn about every other night. We had a fabulous Christmas

We received a call on Christmas day saying that Grandpa Hawley had passed away. We knew he had been struggling. He was 92 years old.  We decided after a lot of deliberation that we would drive out there as a family to be at his funeral and spend New Years Even there. The funeral went well and the graveside service was very sweet. Micah and I both learned a lot about Grandpa Hawley through the memories of those who spoke. At the end of the graveside service, all the children were encouraged to come put a flower on the casket. It was beautiful.  It was hard to see Grandma Hawley through all of it. It made me think of President Hinckley’s words. I can’t remember where it was, but after his wife passed away, he said with tears in his eyes he knew that he would be with her again, but he missed her. Its true and it helped me realize that you can miss people and hurt and still have faith.

We were glad to be there with so many of Micah’s cousins and family that we don’t see very often.

I tried to potty train Rachelle several months ago and ended up frustrated and broke. She could do it, she just didn’t want to. There were prizes involved and she would do well enough to earn the prize and then not care anymore. So I gave up after a few weeks of trying really, really hard! There was a day when she pee peed on a chair right in front of me, when I had asked her just a minute before if she needed to go. I looked at her and said, “Chelle” and let out a frustrated sigh. She looked at me and in a sweet tone and with a little smile asked, “Are you frustrated with me mom?” That was the day I decided we were done with that try at potty training. I didn’t mention it again, until one day in January she went into the bathroom, went pee pee on the toilet and came out and told me. I gave her a high five and decided we would try this potty training again. I just stuck with the high fives and it seemed to be really pleasing to her. She was very successful that day, maybe one accident as she was running into the bathroom. I did end up offering a couple M&M’s for each time with a high five. Everything just worked out this time and we are all so stinkin’ happy about it! Hooray for Chelle!

To top it all off, last week on Sunday before church we painted Chelle’s fingernails and toe nails with pink and sparkles. She loved it! After church we were sitting in the car waiting for Micah to finish up some things for his calling and we were talking about what a great job she did telling her teacher she needed to go to the bathroom. In a proud tone she exclaimed, “Mom, today, my fingers are pretty, my toes are pretty, and my underwear are pretty!” What a fabulous statement!

Its been a wonderful month full of fun! Thanksgiving was so relaxing and fun. We had the annual turkey trot in the morning relaxed for a while and then went over to Jill’s for a nice Thanksgiving feast with family. All the kids had a great time and came away happy. Its always fun to hear what the kids are grateful for – they are so sweet and think of the greatest things. Its a pretty fun time of year with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner. Its just magical. We have a lot to be grateful for.

The Monday after Thanksgiving we got Jackson out of school at lunch time and headed out to Disneyland! We were needing a little break from normal school/work days to have a little family time. It was beautiful completely decked out for Christmas. What a great time to be there!

We met Santa, had a delicious breakfast each morning at the Characters breakfast, and looked at the huge Christmas tree that was in the lobby of the hotel. We all had our favorite rides, but I loved “Its a small world – Christmas style”. It was amazing! Overall it was a little more crowded than I would have liked, but probably not as crowded as the busy season. We ended up getting to do the big cars land ride with Lacey and Jackson (the others were too small) with only a 30-45 minute wait. It is a great ride – maybe not worth waiting two or three hours for, but it really is a fun ride! I’m glad they got on it, they love “Cars.” We did a few other rides in cars land and all were really fun. We met some princesses, which was the highlight of Rachelle’s trip. She keeps asking to go back and meet more princesses. We all had fun on the teacups and carousels, little mermaid, and many others. It was so fun to just get away and be together as a family to do something fun. Disneyland is such a fun place!