new toy

We bought a 4-wheeler this weekend... and the BOYS are excited.

I am pretty excited too..  but Halle.. she is still pretty nervous. Hopefully she will warm up soon!

IT IS FRIDAY!!!!

WAHOO!!!!!

We are all looking forward to summer... 

Cheers to the last Friday of the school year!

DATE NIGHT

This is something that Alan and I have not been able to have in a long while.. and it was MUCH NEEDED!!!
Grandpa came over and watched the kiddos while we went up to the temple for the evening.  It was a perfect break from our very busy life lately.  It was a great time to reconnect and just have fun with each other.  The temple was perfect!  It is our favorite place to take a date night!  There was not very many people in the session and the spirit was felt.
Perfect night with my best friend!

Abel cuddles

Abel has been cuddling up ALOT lately with Noah.

I can not wait to see how their relationship will be.

I know that they will be the best of friends!!!!

Noah... Abel loves to so much already!!! and I think that you love him too.  Whenever Abe cuddles up you always have some punches and pushes for him!

Halle's turns 3

It is crazy to think about the three years that have flown by.  Our first baby is 3 today!!!!!  We started off the day decorating Halle's hallway with streamers and balloons.  Halle got a kick out of it!

After waking up and enjoying the balloons.. we headed to kwik trip to pick out donuts for breakfast.  Halle picked a Persian with chocolate frosting and a strawberry milk.  The rest if the morning was pretty normal.  We played outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather!  The kids took a nap and after nap time we head to Halle's birthday party.  Halle said that she wanted to play at a park for her party.  Easy enough!  I chose the wooden castle park because it is my favorite here in Rochester.  We invited our family and grilled some hot dogs and enjoyed the company.  It was a perfect way to spend Halle's special day!

Halle insisted on picking out her cupcakes this year.  She wanted it with green frosting and lightning mcqueen rings.... I ordered them from Sams club and they kept telling me that they could not put the rings on the cupcake unless they used red frosting... I told Sams Club to include them in a bag on the side and I would put them on the cupcakes.... They liked that idea... and Halle did to!!! She was happy with her choice!

Present Opening... Halle got a bunch of great gifts!  Bubbles, coloring books, balloons, sprinkler, movies, and much much more!

Here is Halle doing what she does best... SWINGING... currently her new favorite thing to do outside.

Halle Elizabeth Blake.... Thank you for coming into our lives.  You make life interesting each and everyday.  You are a miracle to us each and everyday.  Your smile lights up every room that you walk in to.  Please always remember that you are truly special and that you have ALOT of people that love you!  Love you Halle and HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Birthday shopping trip

Grammie asked Halle on Wednesday if she wanted to go birthday shopping on Thursday night after Grammie got done with tutoring.  Halle was SO excited!!!! That is all she talked about today.  

She woke up in the morning and asked if Grammie was coming over in 2 minutes?  I told Halle the whole days schedule and that Grammie would be here after dinner.

After playing outside for a bit, Halle said Grammie was coming over in 2 minutes?  I told Halle the whole days schedule and that Grammie would be here after dinner.

This routine lasted all day long... it was quite amusing!

Grammie arrived after dinner... and HALLE WAS PUMPED!!!!

They went shopping at Target and went to Mcdonalds to get an ice cream treat.

Halle sure felt special and Grammie did not disappoint at all.

When she arrived home she was too excited to tell us everything she had picked out.

She got a shopping cart, play phone, a little kitty, chips ahoy cookies, lucky charms, and a blow up shark!

She LOVED the shopping trip and it made her week!

THANKS GRAMMIE! 

Our beautiful blue eyed babe!

A moment in life that takes your breath away...

These two.

Our sweet babes.

Cuddling up with each other.

it was one of those precious moments in life!

Grateful each and everyday to be their mom!

OH MY!!!!!!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day!

These two are my life.

They make everyday worth living.

When days are hard I look to them for the inspiration I need to get through those days.

I know that this holiday can be a hard one for people.

It was hard for me for a many years.....

But how grateful I am that I have many good woman in my life to remind me what it is all about.

It is all about celebrating those WOMEN!!! in our life.

There are too many that have influenced me in my life to name, but they have all made a huge difference and have helped me to become the person that I am today.

Thank you to all those women who have made a difference.

TODAY WE CELEBRATE WOMEN and the fact that life would be very different if women were not around!

This is the corsage we made Grammie to wear for mothers day!

Mess maker

Abel is our little mess maker.. but he will at least help with cleaning up the huge messes that he makes.

One of his favorite places to hang out in the basement is on his motorcycle toy and then he "looks" at all the books.  When he is finished he flings them to the side.  

and today he wanted to have some more fun with the books.. so he started building large towers of books on my legs.

These two are best buds!

Halle Absolutely LOVES Kelsy!

She comes over and helps while I have morning meetings most weeks.

She is a blessing for me and my kids.

WE LOVE YOU KELSY!!!!!

heart is full...

These three...

So very grateful each and everyday for them.

Alan...

You are my best friend, my eternal companion, my rock.

You are the best dad our children could have asked for

You love the Gospel.

You have a testimony in it.

You appreciate and honor the women in his life.

You honor the Priesthood that he holds.

You work really hard each day at his job and then comes home and works hard at home.

You are the LOVE OF MY LIFE and treats me like a queen.  

I am beyond grateful that I get to be with him!

Halle...

You are my daughter.

You have a kind and gentle heart.

You try to make good choices everyday.

You serve your mom, dad, and brother.

You are a Child of God and he loves you Halle.

You make me smile each and everyday.

Some days are hard.. but everyday is worth it.

I love you Halle and you make life interesting everyday!

Abel...

You are my son.

You have the best smile!

Your warm smile melts my heart on a daily basis.

You love to be adventurous.

You have no fear.

You love to be busy ALL DAY LONG.

You have one of the best laughs I heard and you give the best open mouth kisses and mom could ask for!

Some days with you are hard and stressful... but your warm smile and sweet snuggle makes those hard times worth it.

I LOVE YOU ABEL....

Halle had this hangout when she was about Abel's age.. but she got over it real quick.  Abel LOVES the refrigerator and honestly i do not see him getting over this any time soon....  So we might need to figure out some sort of lock...  We will put out creative minds together and I am sure we will figure something out!

Halle has been really loving babies lately.  We got a new car seat for Noah to use and it is out in our bedroom.  Halle spent a good 45 minutes today putting her baby in and out of the car seat.  I am excited to watch how she will interact with Noah.  She was so sweet when Abel was a baby.. so here is to hoping the same will be with Noah.

APPRECIATE A TEACHER

Thank you Chipotle for appreciating teachers today.

I am grateful to all the wonderful teachers that I have had in my many years of schooling.

They have molded me.  They have taught me.  They have changed me.

They were so wonderful that I wanted to be like them.

I am grateful that I choose to be a teacher.

I LOVE MY JOB! and I love making a different everyday in the lives of my students.

Make sure to always appreciate those teachers in your life.  

Those sweet, kind words speak millions to a teacher!

Abel is enjoying the nice day with a snack and watching the neighbors puppies...

Today we spent the day over in Austin celebrating Merilee for mother's day.  I knew that we would not be able to make it over to her house on mother's day so Alan and I thought that it would be great to celebrate her early.  We went ahead and came over early for church and then once we came home from church we made her a mexican spread of food.  Including quesadillas, guacamole, white cheese sauce, black beans, yummy salsa, and for dessert FRIED ICE CREAM!!!!  It was a wonderful day to spend serving Merilee and also having her hang out with Halle and Abel.

We are grateful to have her as a Grandma to our kids.  She is a great example of a nuturing mother.  She is a great example of someone who loves the Gospel.  She is a great example of working hard and always putting her family first.  Thank you for all you do Merilee.. WE LOVE YOU!!!

Here we are on our way back from Austin and I look back to see a sweet Abel face and then.....

I look back again and he is munching away on his BIG TOE!!! BAH this boy always keeps us on our feet!

NEWEST FREE TOY FIND!!!  I love our neighborhood and their willingness to share their toys!!!

While playing in the garage today I was looking at the christmas tree and then I noticed that there was a nest in there... then I went and looked and there were eggs in the nest.  SAD SAD SAD... Alan had just come home from work when I found the nest.  He went and took a look and the eggs were cold.  Sad day for those sweet babies... but totally fun for the kids to see a nest and eggs up close.

This was a moment in life that I wanted it to stand still.

They were too sweet with each other.

It is honestly the most sweetest thing watching their relationship and love grow for each other.

This is sweet moment happened while we were getting ready to go somewhere after naps.

Abe was sitting down waiting for his shoes to get on and Halle was ready to go.

Halle stuck her face through the poles and gave her a smoochy face.

Abe got sucked right in and went and planted a BIG OL' kiss on her!

Honestly one of those moments in life that you are just beyond grateful that you produced these sweet little people.  LOVE THEM TO DEATH!

day to day

Here Halle is being goofy with a big rubber band.  She thought she was pretty funny!!!

We are still waiting for spring to show up around here... The days have been cold and rainy... and really rainy.  We have been spending our days inside playing with all the different toys... reading all the different books.  But we are really ready for nice weather!!!!