Grandma Jeanne

Zak's Grandma Jeanne passed away last week. She has been sick for quite awhile, and we just found out a couple weeks ago that on top of everything else, she had a large mass of cancer in her stomach. She was moved to hospice and Zak was actually able to drive over there for a weekend to visit with her one more time. She will be missed. We went to El Paso for the funeral. As always, it is not fun to get together for that type of occasion, but it is still good to be able to visit with family we don't get to see very often.

Late night party!

Last night, the boys were so crazy! They were running around the house full-speed trying to see who could yell the loudest. Then they started the nightly wrestling match. Then they splashed pretty much all of the water out of the bathtub. After all that, what better way to end the night than a dance party? Ethan knows how to turn on Zak's alarm clock radio, and then turn the volume up really loud (which always seems to surprise Zak the next morning when it is blaring at 5 am). So Ethan and Colby found some good tunes, and Colby found some nice sunglasses, and they danced and jumped on our bed. They got lots of energy out though so it was really easy to get them to sleep after their little party!

Sugar and spice and everything nice...

My neice Madison had a dance recital this last weekend. She was so cute. It was fun to see all the little girls in their little costumes. My favorite part about it, and this picture captures it pretty well, is that most of them are just up there doing their own thing during the whole dance. It is so fun to watch. All the girls are in little dresses and bows, and looking so perfect up there on stage, and where are my kids?? Ethan had already given up on the recital and was playing at the playground, and Colby found the dirt to play in. Such boys!

Quiet Time

Last Sunday in Sacrament meeting, we were having a really hard time keeping the kids quiet. We were doing the whole stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight thing the whole time. First Zak took Colby out. Then he took Ethan out. Then he took them both out. We were sitting in front of the whole row of elderly people (you know what I am talking about--every ward has this row), and I felt terrible that we were being so distracting. It was not just us, the Bishop even stood up and addressed all the primary children and told them to remember where they were and that they needed to be reverent. Anyway, by the end of the meeting, I was feeling embarrassed that my kids were acting out so much, and I was frustrated, and I was dreading the nursery drop off...I was doing anything but looking at the positive here, when one of the ladies behind me leaned forward and said, "How nice to have a husband who will take the children out!" That was not the type of comment I was expecting. It made me stop and realize how much I take that, and other things for granted. I have been thinking about it all week. My kids are energetic, which can be frustrating at church or the grocery store or anywhere else that I am trying to keep them somewhat quiet, but with that energy comes so much fun and personality! I would not change it for the world. Also, although parenting can be a lot of work, I have such a good partner to help me out. He is not one of those dads that sits back and watches as the mom takes care of everything. Zak is always right there helping with whatever needs to be done. So even when things get crazy at church, I guess I need to realize that I am blessed to have such fun boys (even with the rowdiness) and such a great husband. I love all of my boys!

Colby's Favorites

Sorry, we still have an old-school camera so there is no sound to this video. But it is still cute, right?
Colby absolutely loves his doggy and his blanky. We always laugh at how he tickles his dog's nose and then snuggles up with it. He is also showing off his new favorite trick--blowing kisses.