We Won!

Jared called me from work this morning and let me know we won the grand prize in his company Christmas raffle...a 4 day 3 night cruise...airfare included. I am so freaking excited! The best part is that I will actually be able to fully enjoy it bc it is a rare time that I am not pregnant or nursing (probably a little too much info). The crazy part is this is the 2nd time in 5 years we've won the grand prize. Gotta love Jared's luck! I'm also pretty excited that we get to decide which charity all the money raised gets to go to.

My Boys!

I really love my boys...

...BUT I could do without the destruction of my house! The picture probably makes more sense if you've been to my house...the curtains are supposed to be drawn open, but to see the destruction they are closed. Now Jared and I get to enjoy sleeping under the moonlight!

Where my girls at?

Over the weekend I was able to get away for a two day trip to Utah to visit part of my college posse. Sorry to all those who I didn't get to stop and visit (I only had 48 hours), I wish I had more time! Jared took Friday off work and watched the kids all weekend and I will be forever grateful. I have just one word to describe the whole experience flying, sleeping, eating, and visiting with no kids...AWESOME! I love my kids, but a little break is always nice. I just wish the rest of my girls could have joined me. Erin, Steph, and Katie we missed you!

October in review

Here are some pictures of Oct. at our house.

The climber

Talan seems to climb everything these days without any fear. He climbs on the couch and ottoman and walks right off of them. I guess I'll have my hands full for a while. Eventhough Talan is a handful right now, one year seems the magic number for when life got a little easier with both the boys...they can actually understand what I say and can somewhat communicate what they want. I've seen glimpses of hope in the past few weeks that the boys may be able to play together in the near future. AHHHHHH!! Here is a clip of Talan climbing up to the counter. He loves that he can get up there and watch what is going on. Eventhough my kitchen is ghetto I love my island!

Talan's 1st Birthday

Here are some picture from Talan's birthday. His cake was a basketball jersery. He loved all his gifts. I think Austin was the most excited about the day. He quickly realized that new toys for Talan meant new toys for him too! I've decided for Christmas most of the toys are just going to be for the both of them.

Finally!!

DUH! I've been so frustrated with this dumb blog bc I haven't been able to log on to my blog in like a month. Finally, tonight I tried going about it another way and it totally worked. Go figure. In the last month the boys have been able to spend time with both sets of Grandparents. They had the best time. All Austin says is, "mom, I really love grandma!"

We went to the Fort Worth Zoo with Jared's parents. We had never been there before. It was a really nice zoo. Gotta love austin trying to help his brother look at the camera! Maybe someday he'll learn to be soft with his brother.
Grandpa Barry got Austin and Talan some cool planes/space shuttles. Austin had a blast playing them with Grandma and Talan has now figured out to make them go on his own.
Talan turns 1 on Friday. I can't believe how big he is getting and how much he is starting to understand. Although, he thinks that he is 3 most of the time. DUH!

All work deserves some time to play...

Jared has been busy working on the masterbath. There is an end in sight!!!
Austin making letters with shaving cream!


Watering the flowers turned into watering two boys!



Then it was Mom's turn to get to work!

A new mode of transportation...

Talan has been taking a few steps here and there for a while now, but all of the sudden today he is obsessed with walking (maybe his calloused knees are realizing it is easier to walk).

This clip is for the family so you can actually see hear his cute laugh--no walking on this one, but at least you can see his face!

Austin's 3rd Birthday

Yesterday was Austin's 3rd birthday. It was so much fun. He was thrilled about every little thing we did. From having chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, to riding on the horse by the shopping carts at Walmart, to eating cake. His face had a permanent smile all day.
I had the goal of making a Diego cake, but after talking to a friend, I realized that I didn't have all the supplies. Austin was satisfied with a dot cake in the Diego mold. I'll have to give the frosting a try next time.

Austin talked about licking the beater for 3 days prior to us making the cake.

Austin had to follow the clues to find his birthday present. It was a new bike.
Talan watching Austin ride his new bike. The pads worked well for crawling around. He has been taking a few steps on his own, but isn't super comfortable yet. He gets really excited when he does walk.
The big man on his new bike. He picked up on how to ride so quick, we were pleasantly surprised (especially bc I am on my own for the rest of the week to take him out)!

My baby isn't such a baby anymore

Sorry this video is sidways, I didn't consider it when I was recording. Talan is getting so big. His three favorite things to do are:

1. tackle his brother at any opportunity, especially when it is time to wake him up from a nap! He can definitely hold his own with Austin now. SCARY!

2. Stand without holding on (the video is a little short bc he kept trying to grab the camera)

3. Drink from mom's cup, and yell at the dinner table if he doesn't get what we are having!

Home Decor

Well, I found some pots on clearance for $5 and had to decorate right away. I've been waiting two years to figure out what to do with the clock I got a really good deal on (no surprise that I got a good deal). My itch only comes about once every 2 years. Thank goodness or we would really be poor! My friend helped me arrange it. I think it turned out well. I still need to get a green plant where the greenery is and I'll redo the flowers in the fall, but it will do for now.

Cake

Jared's birthday was a month ago, and I never posted a picture. Here are the cake lover's waiting to dig into their "special treat."

This is so hilarious, Lisa told me to post it. So I attempted a trial run making a cake for a friend's shower. It is supposed to be a duck (the real thing would have been yellow). Good thing I did a practice cake. I should definitely be a cake decorator. RIGHT?????? Jared snuck behind my back to take a picture for a funny memory. I am not offended if you laugh hysterically at my attempt!

My second attempt worked out a little bettter (those are supposed to be bubbles and water). Rest assured, I won't be entering any contests in my lifetime. I don't think I'll ever master being good with details! At least the second cake tasted a lot better than the first.

Ahh, a three day weekend-a little late!

Here are some individual highlights from our Memorial Day weekend (a little delayed bc it was a busy week):

Talan did lots of climbing. We took him to Jared's cousin's for a bbq and he climbed up the stairs without even flinching.


Austin-as you can see from the pictures he spent some quality time with dad, got to go swimming, and loved playing the Wii at Heidi and Aaron's house.

The best part of my weekend was definitely having 2 working toilets in our house again! HOORAY!

Jared- not going to work, of course! And spending time with the boys.

Highlights from our trip

I think I figured out how to post this little album from our trip. We had lots of fun and hopefully didn't drive Jared's parents insane for the 10 days we were there. Eventhough my flights to and from Denver were both cancelled, and our car didn't start at the airport when we got home, our trip was lots of fun. Note to anyone traveling in the near future--never try to fit three suitcases and 4 people in a two door honda civic. Oh well, I guess it made for a good laugh! Good luck to Ryan, who leaves next week for a mission Brazil, we had lots of fun with you.

Denver!

My three new favorite things

Visiting Denver last week, I was introduced to a few of my new favorite things (mostly impart by my mother-in-law).

1. Ziploc Steamer bags- I always wondered if they really worked. They are awesome. I just made fresh broccoli for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I am so excited that I will be able to have fresh vegetables even when Jared is out of town bc they are so easy to make (even just a single serving).

2. Betty Crocker Oatmeal Cookies in the pouch (add raisins)- I am not usually one to like store bought cookie dough, mix, but these are yummy and have just the right blend of flavors. And they are so easy (always a bonus)!

3. Ped Egg- I totally wondered if these worked. Jared got me one for mother's day, and I love it (but I think I rubbed my foot raw bc I got a little too excited). Oh well!