Thank you Cecil!

Guess what I got in the mail today?????
It's official. It only took me 10 years, 14 roomates, 10 moves, 6 AWESOME student/married apartments, 6 jobs, aprox 684 hours of test related stress (that's just an estimate), a mission, getting married, 2 children, 6 wards, far too much in student loans and a lot of studying, but I did it and I'm so glad to get that one off my 'bucket list'. I'm a little sad I was just one class short of a music minor but some how I'll deal. Right now I'm all smiles.

Challenge

Challenges used to scare me. A lot. I feared failure. Not only public failure but private failure. Because of this, I didn't take on a lot of challenges because I'd rather be safe than to risk anything. But going to collage, on a mission, being married, having kids, starting and running my own business, losing weight have all helped me to get over many of those fears. I know that I will completely fail at some things. That's a given. But I have learned that I can succeed at many things too and even if I fail, I usually end up having a lot of fun along the way.

When my Aunt Kathy asked if I'd do the wedding photos for my cousin I was scared but I wanted to challenge myself and I knew I'd learn a lot. So I said yes. I did the wedding pictures for a good friends wedding, my very first, which turned out a lot better than I expected but it was in the summer and outdoors. Lighting there was not really an issue. This one was going to be indoors and lighting was going to be a HUGE challenge, because it was a freezing January day so hardly any outdoor pics and there were only a few windows inside, which both made it challenging to get the lighting right.

After a month of editing, thanks to a laptop breakdown and a computer virus, here are some of my favorite pics of the day. I learned a lot and it's always fun to get to rent and play with some super expensive equipment that I will probably never buy

Gettin' Old - Part II

One of the best things about having kids is that they are pretty dang entertaining. I mean you could just watch them run around and there's no need for any sort of movie or game, they'll keep you laughing all night. At least mine are like that, ESPECIALLY if they know they should be going to bed. The later it gets, the more entertaining and silly they are. That is until it's TOO late, then they have meltdowns.
For dad's birthday entertainment they decided to get all dressed up. Levi in full cowboy costume and Max half cowboy, half fireman. Then Max decided Aunt Cheryl needed to know where her eyes ears and nose are. Isn't he a good teacher?
All the while Levi galloped around the house yelling "Ye haw!"Max made the rounds and also thought it would be a great idea to break in the new guy to the family, his cousin (?) Reagan who just married Miss Krista. At first he wasn't sure about if it was going to be a good fit but after a couple minutes Reagan had him giggling and now we know who to call when we need a fun babysitter.

Gettin' Old - Part I

This weekend we celebrated Jason's birthday a week early because we, Jason and I, get to go to the coast for the entire weekend! We're pretty excited about it. And me being the awesome wife I am, got him a massage. Oh, and one for me too since I will be there anyways.

I was pretty excited to put this all together because I really got to involve Levi this year. For almost a month we've talked about what we should do for Dad's birthday, mostly what kind of cake we should make.

To prepare, a couple times a week Levi and I would get on the computer and look at pictures of some really cool cakes, normally ending up looking at superhero cakes because he wants a superhero one for HIS birthday, which is not for another 7 months.

At first Levi was very insistent on a tool cake because he just has always associated dad with tools but then I saw that the one I REALLY wanted to do was a little too complicated and time consuming to do this time around. Which is not to say we won't do it, because we're definitely doing it. We just found a slightly less time consuming, yet awesome cake to do. A construction cake.

It took three different stores to find the perfect construction trucks, but we finally did it. And guess how many cake mixes??? If you guessed 4 your right. And a whole pile of frosting. We got the rocks, 'made' the dirt by crushing up chocolate graham crackers, which the boys LOVED doing, and even picked out some fun sparkle candles.

It turned out way better than I thought it would, was pretty easy and the boys even helped with it all, though Max kept picking off the rocks when we weren't looking. That little sneak.
As I was working on it I got to thinking about why I like to make cakes for people. I think that while I can make lots of things, some times it is hard deciding what to make for someone and then if I do make something and put my time, thoughts and energy into it I wonder if it will even be used or appreciated. Also crafting for those males out there can be particularly challenging. But a cake? Who doesn't like cake? Fun cakes are always a hit around here, and are practically inhaled.
For his dinner Mr. Man chose a personal favorite and I made him two whole pans of lasagna so he would have plenty of left overs.
See, isn't he happy?
Jason, I love you so so so so much and am grateful you were born. You are my hero and my best friend. Aren't I lucky?

Super

It's no secret we love costumes around here. This week has been super hero week for Levi. He loves getting dressed up, flying around the house usually with one of his superhero figures in hand and 'saving the day'! then undresses and does it again. Max has been into it too, pictures soon to come if I can catch him. He's pretty fast for a little guy.
Need a rescue? You know who to call.

Another one

This one is pretty hilarious. Jared's even got him doing some dj-ing on the record player in about the middle. It's great.

Dancin' Fool

It seems like I had a lot of pics of Levi. Sometimes it's more Max, sometimes Levi. Mostly it depends on who will sit still long enough to take a picture. Right now that's Levi. But here is a little video I got of Max on his first sleepover with his Uncle Jared. It looks like he had a great time and had a lot of fun. But you be the judge.

Too Cool

He sure loves his sunglasses.

First Day

A couple weeks ago was Levi's first day of primary and it was my first day of having a child in primary. I wasn't quite sure how he was going to handle it because he LOVES nursery and his teachers. I mean loves it. He gets so excited for it every Sunday and is sad every time we pick him up to leave. But the day had to come sometime.

To prepare I'd been talking primary up a lot and telling him about how he gets a new teacher and new class and how much fun it is. Also I let him have one of my mini Book of Mormons I used in collage when I didn't want to pack heavy. He even got a little bag to put it in, which he was so excited to carry (It was one of those small bags we got from the subway kids meal. It was the manliest bag I could find on short notice. I think I'll make something even better eventually, we'll see.)

He loved going and I got to see him during the primary time because I do music. At first he sat still longer than I had ever seen him in his life trying to absorb it all in but towards the last 15 minutes or so he really got into things during the music time and has been great ever since. I'm so excited to be able to see him in primary and how he interacts with people. This kid is a natural born sunbeam.

Craftiness, the next generation

We have a craft bucket for craft supplies, like construction paper, scissors, googly eyes, water colors....basically anything besides paper and crayon for the boys to play with whenever they get to feeling crafty. Levi decided he wanted to do his watercolors, so I helped him get set up but apparently, he wanted to get even MORE creative while I was working on some other things.
But at least he knows how to use the scissors (kind of)
make some funny faces,
and lay things out to dry. What a crafty little man.

Boys, boys, boys

During the White's visit for Christmas there were a lot of little boys running around the house. They had lots of fun playing with each other. Levi was constantly asking when Elijah was coming over, and then when they finally came he would freak out and give everyone hugs which I think sort of freaked his cousins out. Levi's a little in your face like that.

They found lots of things to do including watching some fun movies. Levi had a list of the ones he wanted them to watch weeks before they came. So that and a never ending supply of popcorn made for some fun nights.
They had lots of meals together while they were here. We just put them all at one table and let them have at it. Suprisingly they didn't make as big of messes as I thought. Turns out four boys eating isn't that much more of a mess than two.
We sure love our boys!

Goodrich Day

So with all the family craziness during Christmas I decided I wanted to have a day with the Goodrich's, just our little family. It was a simple day, a quiet day, a day for us four. I didn't really take many pictures, we just relaxed and had fun.

Jason made waffles for us, we did the nativity story again with our felt board, we played with all the new games Levi got for Christmas, and of course all the toys. We even went to the store and got a Woody doll because Buzz was such a hit and caused way too many fights. Ok, maybe it was because I was super excited to get it for them. Here is what I was able to catch on camera. Pay attention to the sequence of events.

Max got Buzz from Grandpa, he loves the buttons, carrying it around, flying it. It's the perfect toy. Levi had actually been pretty good about not taking it away ALL the time.
Mr. Max also wants anything his Levi has, regardless of what he has in his own hands.
Levi put up a hard fight but look at those eyes, can you guess who he picks in the Buzz vs Woody debate?
Yeah, he got what he really wanted. I think they both did.
"To infinity and beyond!"

Christmas 2010

I can't even believe Christmas is over, it went by so fast. Things got way busier with the store than I thought it would but I suppose in the end that's a good thing. I am SOOO glad we got our shopping and wrapping done early. And I also decided to forgo the Christmas cards and goodie plate again and save them for V-day, when things aren't quite so busy. I think that's becoming a new family tradition and I have some fun stuff planned for them this year!

For Christmas we decided to stay in Oregon. We started off with a Christmas "program" like we do every year, headed up by my mom. It was very eventful. We did pajama time, goodie time, read the Christmas story full of acting, colored on 'tea towels', wrote notes to each other, and sang some songs.
Max's PJ's were my favorite. I think if it were up to me, he'd only wear striped pants.
Guess what Levi's favorite part was???
And you can be if Levi was into it, Max-o wasn't too far behind. ***note, his song book is upside down, but he sure loved singingBy the end of it all, all the boys were exhausted with all the fun and ready for a good night's sleep. We we so tired we forgot to leave out cookies for Santa, but that didn't stop him from coming! I bet he knew how tired we were and snuck some out of the cupboard.

Now for Christmas morning.

This is probaly my favorite moment of Christmas 2010. Look at that face! Right after coming out of his room Levi came running out where I was waiting with a couple others.
He saw it all and declared "Santa brought presents!!!!"
Then after I told him we had to wait a bit, decided he needed to go tell his uncles, who were sleeping downstairs, the good news. I don't know if they liked it or not, but who can get mad at a little kid Christmas morning?
Max? Where do you think? That's right, he needs his beauty sleep. A kid that cute needs a lot.
Eventually Max woke up and we'd kept them out of the presents for as long as we could and decided to give in and let them play with their new wagon grandpa and grandma Goodrich had got. How did they know?
After a while the other folks showed up and had some breakfast then the boys were ready to go!
Even though they'd just eaten, the boys were more than happy to guzzle down some of the juice from their stockings.
Elijah and Henry also were able to find something sweet in theirs.
Then it was present time, which was in two words pure chaos. I was pretty stunned by it all. My brother was handing out presents left and right and all the boys started ripping open presents regardless of who it was for, but they seemed to be having fun. Levi even got pretty excited about getting new pants!
I put the camera down for the rest of the day after this. But here is Jason opening his gift from Levi. Several days before I took him to the dollar store to buy presents for people. I asked him what kind of present he thought daddy would like. "A tool". So we went down the tool aisle and instantly he saw this. We have a few of these so I tried to steer him towards something else but he was VERY insistent that this was perfect for dad. "Dad needs a scraper. He needs it." So we got it.
Later that night all the boys watching something, but apparently it was pretty interesting.