February

In life you can laugh or cry. I choose to laugh, most of the time.

 My kids make me laugh all the time. Azalyn told her dad, "dad if mom is not having any more babies then you have a baby" If it only worked that way. Azalyn told me she was going to marry daddy when she grew up. I said you cannot, I am married to him. With all seriousness she says "Mom when I am older he will not want to be married to you" Harsh. 

Dog: I totally fell for a scam. I put $50 down to see a dog. When Greg went to look at the dog, the person that answered the door said I am so sorry I hope you are not out a lot. Note to self if you have to put money down before you see the dog there is no dog. 

Then I did a pizza order and forgot to complete the order. That was bad but we had friends over to eat with us. Greg went and picked up what they had. (Hot and ready) 

Good thing:  I did V-shed a few times and I love how fast it is, it is only 18min. Greg and I installed installation in the garage. It was way faster and easier than expected. We could feel a difference immediately. Anything to help our cooling bill this summer. Why we were doing it 2 birds flew in our window, it took us way longer than it should of to get them out. 

 We watched the movie "Fireheart” and now Azalyn is obsessed about becoming a firefighter. The boys are 100% supportive telling her she can be anything. At the dollar store Az got a balloon, it flew in a tree then popped about 5 min after getting home. Greg picked up another one for her. I am not sure if Colvin or her was more excited that she got a new one. 

Denali did great fasting. He did not eat anything all day with 8AM church we really fast most of the day. Progress baby steps. The family fast what for Denali's play, Greg's work, and that the kids can get into the school.   Huge blessing, I got the email the next morning that they got in. Huge faith booster for the kids. The best part of primary for Az are the "handouts" she got a bottle of "living water" she carried it around for a week. 

Colvin had an activity days about goals. He had to stand up and talk about his goal. He did not say beat the ender Dragan (but everyone I told said I should of let him) He did say he wanted to get 3 stars on simply piano. Colvin also got to be student of the week. It is crazy how much a teacher influences a student’s life. Colvin loves school again because of his amazing teacher. 

I found the best try meal for kids. Homemade boneless wings. We had about 5 different sauces and had the kids just try a bite. Tell us what they liked and did not like. They were in control. 

I really try to do things with my kids. We rode our bikes to the dollar store. Azalyn rode her bike the whole time. She was not happy for the first part but by the end she was a pro. I try really hard to read to my kids. I was reading a train book to Azalyn (each page a train disappears you have to guess which one) she would turn the page fine the missing train and flip back. Then on the way to school she wanted me to read her zoo book (yes that book I can read and drive, it is in my head) however if I did not do it exactly right, she would let me know. She has it memorized too. 

I went to a super Saturday and made an Easter wreath. It turned out soo cute. I had so much fun doing it. I want to make one for my sisters. As a family we were invited over to one of Denali's friends. They have 6 boys, and it was entertaining.  None of the kids ever asked to leave. Greg and I hosted our first super bowl party. Key to any party LOTS of food. It was a success. 

BIG NEWS: We got two puppies. One Female Oreo she is a Shih tzu and a Male Marshmallow Maltipoo.  Greg and I had put a down payment on them before we headed to Utah. Both families were kind enough to hold them for us for a week. We did not tell the kids. They were shocked with Dog one then was so flabbergasted with number 2 they were speechless. It took them all about 2min to warm up to both dogs. Az loves taking them for walks in her car. The boys did not even have free free time for about 2 days, enthralled with the puppies. I remembered what it was like to have a baby. I had to get up with them every 3 hours for about 2 weeks to kennel train them. We cannot let them outside at night too many coyotes.

Valentines: If you do things differently, that is not bad. Valentine’s day is for my kids. They love handing out treats. Preschool had a very cold outside party. Funny story: It was a dress down day for the boys if they wore “Valentines colors” Colvin was in uniform Denali had on his favorite shirt.  Azalyn’s favorite color is pink, and her favorite shape is a heart.  Tons of pink heart pants, dresses and shirts.  She insisted on wearing a black butterfly dress. I got my family each a caramel apple and made red crapes. Greg got me a tea candle holder and a bonsai tree (picked out with the help of the boys).  However, for Greg and I we try to show and tell each other that we love each other every day. We did not need a day that is just for that. Take the presser off us. Show yourself some love, I got Jimmy Johns. 

UTAH: It was cold. There highs are lower than our Lowes. The kids did love stomping in the snow. There was not really enough to do anything else.  We made a Costco run for Candy. We were able to have a family dinner with Greg’s family. All the siblings showed up. He really does need his family.  We also hit up La Casita (Arizona has tons of subpar restaurants) and the Nickel Arcade. 

On Sunday we went to his moms Grave. Greg loves and hates going. It is very important I keep her alive in the kids mind. We went down because Maddison came home from her mission. It was fun just to hang out with the family. Denali said that we need to keep reading her letters. 

My Cousin Jeremy passed, see another post. However, when we were in Utah, we were able to crash Olin's baptism. Markus presided over it.  He pointed out that there is no coincidences in the gospel.  The day before he attended Jeremy’s funeral. Jeremy baptized him and then today he was able to baptize his son. The lord knew.   Talking about the baptism, everyone was shocked but so happy to see us. Olin told his mom that he wanted us to come. Faith of a child. 

We had the missionaries over for dinner and we had breakfast. WOW they ate. We took our kids to in person stake conference (the first time in about 3 years ) it might be that many or more till we do it again. Use the blessing god gave us and zoom.

Mom and dad came. They were going to stay for a few months but dad was approved to have surgery so they have to go home in a week. Dad was able to help Greg with stump fest. We had to cut down 2 palm trees. Since we only have a battery chain saw it took dad all week. (Greg cut down the first one and the main part of the 2nd). Huge savings thanks to the cities bulk pick up.  Dad really wanted to take us out. They took us to In N Out. Denali ate a triple. 

I was able to go to the Wild Life Zoo with Azalyn for a field trip. It is way better than I was expecting. Her highlights were the Flamingo, (her favorite animal), feeding the giraffe and just running from one animal to the next all day. 

This has been the longest and the Coldest Winter Arizona has had in 30 yrs. I cannot wait for the first 100 day.